Acting on a Dream
by Nukoko
Summary: Half a decade after the grail war had passed and they've spent their days enjoying the peace. After everything they had faced, Sakura and Shirou had lived happily together. In the world of dreams however, Shirou would still often see the fire and sometimes the war. Recently however, his dreams would be plagued by a certain purple haired servant.
1. A Single Moment

**===[Sweet Comeuppance]===**

 _"Shirou..."_

 _She whispered his name as her hands caressed his cheek. Her voice was filled with desire, mixed with a hint of pleading. Her eyes met his, and he could see so very clearly what she wanted from him._

 _He sat on the floor with his back to wall and didn't say anything in response -couldn't say anything in response- as he stared into those lovely eyes._

 _He wanted to tear his sights away from the woman, but found himself physically unable to._

 _Greeted with silence, she drew even closer, pressing her entire voluptuous body against him, mounting him, and placing her place inches away from his own._

 _"R-Rider…"_

 _He spoke her name weakly, an attempt at defiance._

 _"Yes, Shirou?"_

 _She whispered into his ear and took a playful bite before pressing her forehead against his._

 _Her lips were so close. He would only to raise his face ever so slightly and he would reach it._

 _He was faced with that temptation. The temptation to simply throw caution and temperance out of the window and simply grab the woman in front of and pull her into a tight embrace and a deep kiss._

 _It would be so simple…. To act on it… To revel in it…. To simply forget about the consequences for a just one moment…_

 _"Shirou—"_

"Ugh…"

He groaned as he found himself inside his room.

He could feel a bit disappointment at finding himself alone in the futon, having grown used to Sakura being the first person he would always see upon waking. Unfortunately, Sakura would be gone for the entire week in order to help Rin with one of her projects, so he would have to sleep on his own for an extended period of time.

He took a few calming breaths, composing himself, before finally getting up.

"That dream again…"

His dreams had always been rather consistent.

In the past, he would often dream of his very first memory, the fire of Fuyuki. The image of town drowned in flames, the smell of charred wood and corpses, and the sound of screams and pleas for help as he desperately tried to move and seek help.

Other times, he would dream of the Grail War. He would find himself once again in his shed, facing the newly summoned Saber, with all her dignity and elegance and the final they had as he drove the knife that ended her. He would see the moments with Rin as she discussed the war with him, the few precious moments with Illya that they spent not fighting, and every moment he had spent with Sakura as they fought against all the demons that haunted her.

When it wasn't the field of battle, he would dream of happy times. Those dreams would always be spent with Sakura, in the many memories that they've made. The happy times, the sad times, the hard times. Sometimes, Rin and Rider would appear in those dreams, just as they would often spend time with them in real life.

He would often talk about those kind of dreams with his 'family'. Sakura would fondly reminisce along with him, Rider would have a content smile, and whenever Rin would come to visit, she would make sure to tease everyone involved. Taiga would join in and rage about and everyone would laugh heartily.

However, there was one more kind of dream that he kept to himself. Unlike the fire and the grail war that would sometimes come up in conversation, the last kind of dream he would see wasn't something he was entirely too willing to discuss.

It was the dreams he had about Rider.

"Shirou… ah, you've awoken."

The shoji doors opened as he deposited the futon into the closet. Making sure that it was neatly placed, he closed the closet and turned towards his 'partner in crime' for the rest of the week, as Sakura had so aptly put it.

"Good Morning Rider."

"Good Morning Shirou. It's rather rare for you to sleep in, even on a weekend. Did you have a good dream you didn't want to wake up from?"

Using his extreme force of will that had been developed through intense battle with heroes of legend, he pushed the thoughts of his recent dream in the farthest corner of his mind and kept his face straight and just wore a wry smile.

That particular statement was telling but he didn't feel the need to address it at the moment.

"Well… you can say that…"

He rubbed the back of his neck as he let out a sigh. It was going to be a long week.

* * *

Breakfast was a simple and quiet affair. A few servings of fish, rice, and miso soup were laid out on the table neatly. Rider had prepared the miso soup, something she usually does when he and Sakura weren't double-teaming the cooking arrangements.

Out of their little family, the two of them were perhaps the most taciturn. With the absence of Taiga, who held enough energy to power a second sun, and Sakura, who would gracefully fill the table with pleasant conversation; the two of them simply enjoyed the companionable silence they shared as they ate. Whenever they were alone together, particularly when they were both reading in Rider's room, this was the their default state.

The only noise was from the television that had been turned on. The channel showed a group of men discussing about Harley Davidson motorcycles and their history. The production of the show was pretty good from in his opinion, with the highlight on specifications for the chopper being particularly interesting.

Both of their attentions had been drawn to it as they ate.

"Hmmm… Shirou, do you think we could manage such a thing in the workshop?"

For the first time since they exchange greetings in the morning, the immaculate silence was broken by Rider's voice. Her voice had always been rather distinct, low, even, and calm in delivery. He had always felt that voice reassuring.

"I think the parts might be a bit too expensive compared to what we usually use. Maybe we can took to the Fujimuras if they have some spare parts?"

"Mmm, I've always been curious how riding a chopper would feel like. Ah… which reminds me. It seems the parts we've been looking for have arrived earlier this morning."

"Oh? Did we actually get the correct size of sprockets?"

"They seem to be the correct ones indeed. If you're free for the day, would you like work on Bellephron?"

Despite her every present calm and measured expression, he could see a glint of excitement on Rider's eyes.

"I don't really have anything important for today that I can't put off for another time. So why don't we clear the table and get to that?"

With the cursory 'gochisousama deshita', the two of them concluded the meal. Rider looked completely calm, her movements not looking hurried at all, yet somehow she was moving at a far faster pace than normal humans could achieve without even making any extra noise.

These were the kind of moments that reminded him that Rider was in fact, not human.

"Shirou, I'll go get the tools and parts ready."

"Sure, I'll follow shortly after washing the dishes."

He deposited the dishes into the sink and began washing. The running water from the faucet was a bit warm, reminding him of the coming summer season.

It felt a bit lonely washing so few but with the coming gathering next week, it was quickly going to change soon.

"That should do it..."

After giving the dining room and kitchen another look to check if anything else needed to be organized, he proceeded to check the bounded fields to make sure that they were operating properly before proceeding to the shed outside.

He entered his shared 'workshop' with Rider. Though it was the place that he used to practice magecraft, it had also become the area where he and Rider could work on their projects together.

He had already changed into more appropriate clothes, wearing a set of overalls that Sakura had given him a few years ago, he proceeded inside to find rider wearing her own set. Compared to his blue overalls, Rider had been wearing black ones. He noted that her long and voluminous hair was tied into a large braid, something she usually did when working on their projects.

"This place has gotten a bit cluttered."

The insides of the sheds wasn't exactly spacious, but it was enough that they could work on motorcycles and still have some freedom of movement. Several shelves and containers were inside, containing parts and components for various appliances he's worked on through the years. Some The mess inside could be called organized chaos as Rin had called it, with various things scattered on the ground and boxes haphazardly stacked on the walls.

"Rider, how are the parts?"

In the five years they've lived together as a family, he and Rider gotten quite a bit closer. One of his hobbies was tinkering and fixing random appliances and machinery, and when Uncle Fujimura had decided to drop an old motorcycle on his lap a few years ago, he also got into learning how they work.

The first motorcycle he was given a chance to take on was an old model of the Kawasaki Ninja, a ZX900. When he wasn't working, training, spending time with Sakura or with the family; it became a side project. He learned how motorcycles and each of its components worked; building his knowledge from the ground up through research and advice from acquaintances in his actual work.

When Rider learned what he was doing, and understood that she may have a chance at riding something that could go faster than any mere bicycle could manage, she had decided to involve herself with the project. She even went as far as providing funding for it and learning how to build and fix the thing along with him.

That particular model was in the parking space outside of the shed. Rider liked to call it 'Number Zero', apparently in order to properly establish the speed ranking since 'Number 1' was a sports bike and 'Number 0' was a granny bike. He briefly wondered if their current project would have been named a negative number had it not taken on name of Rider's beloved mount.

At some point, they're daily conversations shifted to discussions about the project, a fact that was well noted by everyone else they knew. Rin had naturally teased them, Taiga raged about it and cited we needed to act appropriately, and Sakura almost cried tears of happiness at the prospect of him and Rider getting closer.

Apparently, one of Sakura's greatest wishes was that the two of them would get along better.

"Shirou, you've arrive. Could I trouble you to hand me the allen wrench set?"

Rider was kneeling, positioned on the back of the motor cycle, and testing to see if they did indeed have the correct sprocket for the chain drive. Unlike the old ZX900, this one was a newer model from the 300 series. It had a sharp and sleek design, a machine that looked like it was built for speed. and with the stated maximum speed limits of the thing, he almost feared for the streets of Fuyuki once Rider took it for a spin.

It was predominantly black with purple accents, a theme that mimicked Rider's servant outfit quite well. It was actually more of a passion project from Rider than him; its official name being "Bellephron" was a testament to that fact.

"Right, here you go."

Picking up the set of allen wrenches from the nearby toolbox, he approached the kneeling servant and handed her the tools.

From the smile on Rider's face and the fit of the sprocket, it seemed that they might actually get the thing running soon. They had heavily customized the thing, enough that the standard parts for the bike couldn't be used and they needed to spend time finding ones that did.

He had a moment to appreciate exactly how beautiful Rider was when, particularly when she smiled like that, but quickly shook the thought.

"Shirou… looks like we might actually be able to finish this today."

He looked at the motorcycle at that. the most important components were already properly mounted on the chassis and the suspension had already been set. With the wheels they managed to get from another bike and the chain drive getting fitted, it really was about to be completed.

"We'll need to check all the parts and fittings but yeah, we can probably get this thing running by the end of the day…"

"Shall I check if get the lubrication set up while you get the instrumentations done?"

"Sounds like a plan. We can do a test run once we're done getting everything settled."

Nodding to each other, they set to work. In the division of labor, he usually handled anything that was sensitive since Rider still had trouble controlling her strength. She had accidentally broken a few tools and parts when they were starting out, something that she still laments to this day, but she'd made great strides over the years when it comes to control.

Like breakfast, companionable silence reigned as they worked on the bike, moving around the shed without bumping to each other, passing around tools without the need to tell the other, and working more efficiently than most people could ever manage.

Minutes turn into hours as they worked, in silence, focused on the objective before them.

When the bike finally reached completion both of them stood up to appreciate it for a moment.

"I confess that I'm rather excited, Shirou if you would the honors?"

"Alright, let's try this out…"

 _*VROOOM*_ \- The wonderful sound of the revving engine greeted the two of them as they turned the key. Quickly doing a cursory check of the instrumentations and the primary controls, he shut off the engine and looked towards his partner who was giving a full smile, unlike her usually more reserved ones.

He couldn't blame her. It was a project that they had worked on for months. It took a lot of time and resources but Bellephron had finally come to life.

Of course, in the time of victory disaster decided to strike.

As he let go of the motorcycle, the front wheel shifted to the side, making it bump into the stack of boxes near it. The stack of boxes that seemed to haphazardly stacked, was sent tumbling to the side, knocking over even more things in the shed.

As if divine intervention had occurred, a chain reaction was set off, with the containers behind him starting to fall as well.

In a bid to evade the stack, he tripped on one of the tool boxes nearby. Trying to grab onto something, he tried to hold on to the bike itself. Unfortunately, that was a bad idea to do as the bike wasn't properly set on its stand and fell to the side as well.

"Shirou…!"

Reaching out to prevent him from getting hurt, Rider attempted to catch him, however due to the mess on the ground and the lack of space, he ended up bringing her down to the ground with him.

When the dust had settled and nothing else seemed to want to dive beautifully into the ground, he let out a long sigh.

"Ugh—Really should've listened when Sakura told us to properly organize and clean this place…"

Thankfully neither of them would actually be hurt with something so minor due to their respective situations.

However, he wasn't quite as relieved at his current predicament.

"Well… this is a bit sudden. Sakura did say to make sure to keep you company Shirou, but I certainly didn't think this is what she meant."

It was only with that comment that he realized the position he was in: Rider was right under him and his face was resting on her bountiful chest. It wasn't quite as ideal as one would imagine since both of them smelled of oil, but he figured that essentially any other human being wouldn't find a reason to complain.

On one hand, he liked the fact that they had gotten closer to Rider. On the other hand, one of the perils of that was Rider was even more willing to tease him whenever the opportunity presented itself. Unfortunately, those opportunities came far too often and the situation they were in perfectly qualified for one.

"Sorry Rider, you okay?"

Raising his head a bit and maintaining his calm, he looked Rider to see that she was smiling.

It was the kind of smile that told him she would be teasing him as she saw fit.

It felt strange when the only emotion that elicited from him was one of resignation.

"I'm fine, Shirou... I don't particularly mind our _position_."

He felt Rider shift below him and he could feel her hands moving to push off the things that were on top of them.

With a relieved sigh, he tried to get up, only to find Rider's arms wrapped around him.

"You know Shirou... I feel like you need a of a workout. Perhaps... I can _substitute_ for Sakura if you're feeling the need to _exert_ yourself?"

He couldn't help but swallow audibly at the implications but quickly shook off the thought.

One of her arms stayed firmly on his back while the other began tracing above it until she caressed his cheeks.

The dreams in the morning played in his head and that compulsion to simply give in almost took over.

Rider made no other move but her arms didn't budge and a few moments passed as they stayed in that position, they're eyes focused on the other.

"Right, let's get up and clean up."

Finding the strength to resist, he spoke those words with just the slightest bit of reluctance, dispelling the tension.

Rider gave him knowing smile before rolling him over, switching their positions, with her now on top, effectively mounting him.

She kept her hold on him as she sat up, his body firmly attached to her own.

"Understood. Shall we clean ourselves before further activities or would you prefer do engage in them immediately?"

He didn't blush. He made sure to give any overt reaction. If he could he would even stop the accelerated heart beat he was experiencing.

He wasn't going to give Rider that pleasure, not after she's pulled this so many times before.

He knew for a fact she was phrasing her question to mean something else entirely.

"… and exactly what kind of activities are we talking about?"

With a raise of an eyebrow and a wry smile, he made sure to properly show that he wasn't going to keep falling for these kinds of baits.

"Well, the physically demanding activity of making lunch of course. Did you have any plans for anything else Shirou?"

"Well yes, if you count cleaning as another form of physically demanding activity."

With yet another knowing smile Rider responded before seeming to relent and let go of him, actually standing up and started fixing their workshop.

As he stood up himself and were clearing the mess, he couldn't help but think back to the dream he had that morning and all the dreams he had in the past.

It was just a small thought he had, just a small moment of mischief.

He responded to that thought as his body moved before he could actually think it through, just like striking at an opening in battle.

"Rider."

He called her name. As he approached her while her back was turned.

"Yes, Shirou?"

Still with a satisfied smile on her face, she turned her face towards him...

... Only to find Shirou's lips touching hers.

It was just for a brief moment, not more than a few seconds.

When he drew back, he took a few seconds to process what he did and couldn't help but blink in surprise.

"S-Shirou…?"

He looked at Rider and saw her eyes widened slightly and a blush creeping on her immaculate white skin. When he met her eyes, a moment passed, until Rider broke the eye contact and looked to the side.

Despite the fact that Rider had spent the past few years teasing him, it looked she wasn't actually prepared for a sudden positive reception.

For some reason, he felt that what he did was entirely justified if it actually made her react in such a way.

"Ah, right. Lunch, let's go prepare some food and eat."

Nodding, he got up and went straight out of the shed.

"Eh? Shirou…!"

He ignored Rider's voice as he staunchly refused to face her, the realization of exactly what he had done finally sinking in.

Exactly what was he doing?

 **===[Sweet Comeuppance]===**

"Sakura, though I appreciate the help, but remind me again why you joined me for this?"

Rin Tohsaka called out to her sister as she put her luggage down on the floor of the hotel room. It was simple in décor, with a large single bed, a large wooden closet, a decently sized bathroom, and a small cooking area.

There were a few things she needed to investigate here in Honshu for the sake of her research. For reasons unknown to her, when she had informed Sakura over the phone that she was going to be in Japan for a while for research purposes and that she would visiting after, her sister had gleefully decided that she was in need of a companion.

It was rather expensive but she needed enough space and with Sakura helping foot the bill, she was able to manage to just barely convince herself to rent it.

Though 'convince herself' wasn't exactly the term she would use. If she was being truthful, 'forced on her by her younger sister' was probably significantly more accurate.

She really did sympathize with Shirou at times.

"Nee-san, it's been a while since we saw each other, was it so wrong that I wanted to spend a bit of time with you?"

With an angelic smile that showed an innocent maiden that could possibly do no wrong, Sakura gave her a smile that would likely melt any innocent boy's heart.

Though the thought made her happy, something that she wasn't really planning on showing, she's gotten to know her younger sister well throughout the years they've spent after finally mutually acknowledging their familial ties.

So it was easy for her to understand that something was up.

" _Riiight_. You know, you've said that several times throughout the year and I recall that whenever you want to spend time with me like that, Emiya-kun and Rider are usually spending it with us."

"Well, I do think we need a lot more bonding with just us sisters. Don't you want that too Nee-san?"

She could see her sister's expression change as she spoke those words. A small pout, a disappointed face, and a hopeful tone.

That just cemented her suspicions all the more.

However, since she determined that her sister won't be revealing anything soon, she decided that it was best to focus on unpacking.

"So Sakura, what's Emiya-kun doing back in Fuyuki?"

A leading question. She'd have time to actually determine her sister's reason soon enough but most of the weird things that Sakura did could easily be traced back to Shirou.

"Oh, senpai? Well he and Rider should be finishing up Bellephron by now."

As they were unpacking the contents of her luggage, she noted the sly smile that graced her sister's face as she said those words when she stole a quick glance.

She often talked to both Sakura and Shirou, catching up on what's happening with the other's lives. There were also the rare moments when she would talk to Rider, which always lead to interesting conversations on how Shirou and Sakura's relationship develops over time.

She focused on that statement and thought it through.

Looks like she found her lead.

"With Rider huh. Those two have gotten closer throughout the years."

"Yes! They've really bonded over building and working with motorcycles. If I knew it would end up like that earlier, I would've found a way to make it happen earlier!"

Rin nodded, with that the foundation was set.

She needed to build on it slowly.

"I guess that means the two of them will be alone for the week."

"Yes. I do hope that they don't focus on just the motorcycle though. Those two can get a bit absorbed with is sometimes…"

"Oh? Afraid that they'll get a bit too close there Sakura?"

"Hmmm… why would I be afraid? I've always wanted to make them closer to each other."

Rin stopped what she was doing in favour of looking straight at Sakura's expression.

It seems that she didn't actually to take this slow if Sakura was being open about it.

In her head, she reached several conclusions and a few curious questions that needed to be answered.

"I see."

Closing the empty bag, Rin pushed it to the side and approached her younger sister.

"So Sakura, tell me…"

Sakura turned towards her with a confused face. She greeted that face with a smirk.

"… Do you think a servant's riding skill translates to more than just vehicles or…?"

"Nee-san…!"

Her sister immediately blushed at her insinuation but what was telling to her was that it seemed to lack any indignation or even a hint of jealousy.

This time she grinned.

It looks like her next visit would be a lot more interesting.

 **===[Sweet Comeuppance]===**

Here's another one-shot dedicated to Lastmanstanding. Who suggested the characters, setting, and theme of this one-shot.

Been a while since I've written purely slice of life and about the first time I've written romance in such a setting.

Quite a refreshing experience actually. Hopefully I did it well enough.

Thank you for reading!


	2. A Ride for Two

Well, hey there. Here's a second chapter to this.

Recently been trying to rework my style so this one actually came out a bit longer than my usual self imposed word limit.

For followers of the Forge, chapter will be up by tomorrow or Monday, just in case you were wondering.

Thank you for all the favs, follows, and reviews (special thanks to Kr0n0s00 for his kind words).

Well, honestly, still having a hard time grasping Shirou and Rider's characters really. This one features a section on Rider's perspective and hopefully that came out well (because I had very, very few things to base it on.)

Edit note: Mobile is absolute ass in editing chapters. Apologies for any weird mistakes in the chapter.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

 **==[Rider - Contemplation and Considerations]==**

The concept of love and romance was a bit of an odd topic for her.

It wasn't that she didn't understand the concept, far from it. If such was the case, she would never have been able to properly support Sakura in her endeavors. In fact, she understood the concept perfectly.

She had every bit of knowledge involving courtship rituals of the modern times and was well versed with the socially acceptable behaviors involving romance and courtship in general. It was why she was even able to dispense reasonable advice that, at least she would like to believe, had helped bridge the gap between a shy and conservative maiden and her dense beloved.

The Grail had granted her the necessary knowledge. With that, it was just a matter of consolidating and understanding the information by first hand observation of how humans behaved in modern society.

She supplemented that with her hobby of reading. Even now, in her room that frequent visitors of the Emiya abode liked to call the 'family library', there was a veritable treasure trove of romantic novels that were buried upon the mountain of books she had managed to collect over the years.

She was aware that fiction stories wasn't any sort of place to gain advice of course. Even non-fiction stories involving romance were a bit further from the average romance. However they did reflect how humans themselves viewed, understood, idealized, and approached the concept of romance; so they provided some insight nonetheless.

All of that, combined with the success she had achieved with Sakura's conquest of Shirou, may have given her a bit of a complacent and simple view of love.

She realized that she was, of course, completely wrong.

Loving someone, or even simply being romantically inclined towards them wasn't something she was familiar with. She was acquainted with it, yes, but if she were to properly describe her personal experience in love like if she were asked in a part-time job interview, she would say 'inexperienced and untrained', and even then, reluctantly so.

Such were the thoughts that crossed her mind as she looked at Shirou Emiya's peacefully sleeping visage. He slept straight, the covers looking barely creased, with the rise and fall of his chest being the only observable movement from his body.

The room was dark, but that wasn't any barrier that prevented her from seeing. There was no clock inside the room but it was just a few minutes past midnight.

She quietly sat near right beside his bedding, having observed him for the past half hour, contemplating on the things that had transpired in the morning.

Particularly, the moment when his lips touched hers.

It was such a simple action. One she had observed Sakura and Shirou perform countless of times. She had also seen the action performed in the various media she consumed; from the words written in the novels she read, to the soap operas that Taiga seemed to be so fond of.

She had even, to the couple's complete ignorance, observed the more deep and intimate kisses that the two shared. A bit of information that she planned on teasing Shirou with when she finds the perfect opportunity.

Yet, when she actually had found her lips being lightly pressed to his, the whole world seemed to come to a screeching halt. Her thoughts froze, with her brain requiring every bit of capacity it had to fully process and digest the situation. Her heart raced, faster than in any adrenaline filled battle she had fought.

Even now, as she stared at the boy's lips, recalling the moment in her head, the beat of her heart increased its pace ever so slightly.

It was a combination of oddity and longing.

"Shirou…"

She had always been fond of him. If asked, she could, without any hint of hesitation, say that she loved and cherished him as family. Just like Sakura, Shirou Emiya was an existence she would risk her life for.

She would be a lying if she denied that she held any sort of romantic inclination towards him. That was one of the reasons why she enjoyed the little bits and moments they had together; why she would often tease him when she had the chance.

But then, that wasn't something she ever planned on acting on. Partly, out of respect for Sakura's feelings and for the sake of the happiness that the girl deserved; partly out of the fact that she knew Shirou would never really reciprocate.

That was at least, until this morning.

"Shirou… what were your intentions with that?"

She drew her face closer to his, just an inch shy of touching. She could remember the initial surprise that she saw in Shirou's eyes as their lips parted and the simple and decisive nod that followed it.

Truly, for the first time in a long time, she was unsure of the thoughts that were going through his head.

 _'Rider… you know, I wouldn't mind if you get closer to senpai you know?'_

She recalled Sakura's words right before she left for her trip to assist Rin. She had brushed it off at the time, remembering that she had responded by saying Shirou probably didn't see her like that, just like she always had whenever Sakura brought up the topic in recent years.

The same response that she would also give when Rin would find time to tease the non-existent trysts that she and Shirou were supposed to be having when Sakura was absent.

Even after properly recognizing that her figure was indeed sought after in modern times, she didn't think it was something that could match Sakura's charm.

Since they have met and lived together, she had always thought that Shirou viewed her as family and nothing more. A perception that was helped by how he had always reacted to her teasing.

Now though, just a bit, just for moment, she entertained the thought.

The thought of the fact that Shirou may just be holding back just like she was.

She let out a small smile as a mischievous thought popped out in her head.

After all, Sakura had given her blessings.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

 **==[Shirou Emiya]==**

"Shirou, shall we do the test drive for the bike today?"

Gently smiling at him, Rider broke the lovely and companionable silence they were sharing at the breakfast table. The television to the side of the room was on, with the Sunday morning talk show talking about the discounted prices at Waku Waku splash, an apparent attempt to attract more visitors during the colder seasons.

"Might be good if we do it now. As long as we keep it to the outskirts of the town, we shouldn't have trouble."

He replied with a smile of his own, immensely relieved at the lack of awkwardness that was so prevalent yesterday. He was able to fully enjoy the food on the table; a simple western styled one consisting of bacon, eggs, and toast.

After his little stunt in the shed, Rider had been silent throughout the day, as if she was in deep contemplation. Though he wasn't exactly regretting what he did considering the years of teasing he had been subjected too, which was still his current justification for his action, he certainly didn't want that to damage the close friendship he had with Rider.

"Fufu, with the amount of customizations we had made, the speed limits of the Bellephron should far exceed the ZX900… or any bike for that matter. I can barely wait to see how car she can be taken."

"Hnngh…"

A shiver went down his spine at the grim reminder of one of Rider's bad habits.

Back when he had first completed the repairs on ZX900, Rider had set an absurdly elaborate and complicated scheme that would have made Caster of the Fifth Grail War proud. She had managed to convince every other person in the house to allow her to ride the motorcycle.

At the time he also fell for the clever ruse. In a matter of months, Rider had been slowly, patiently, and gradually establishing the means for her to be allowed to ride the motorcycle. She had done everything she could to be in her absolute best behavior; not teasing him, riding number 2 at reasonable speeds, and not even teasing Ayako of all people when she had visited. She had bribed Taiga, conspired with Rin, and begged Sakura until they all relented.

Faced with pressure from every other member of the household, he had no real choice but to relent and allow Rider to have a go with the ZX900, getting out a promise that she would bring the thing back in one piece.

Needless to say, Rider, having finally gotten her target, went all out.

That night, a legend in Fuyuki was born.

A legend of a shooting star that flew through the roads of Fuyuki, making several laps around the entire city. It had cause quite a bit of commotion at the time, something that even been reported in the news.

He had no idea how Rider managed to achieve speeds that weren't actually physically possible with the ZX900. He just settled for thinking that her riding skill was somehow capable of ignoring the basic Laws of Thermodynamics.

Though they had banned her from using the bike due to that stunt, she had eventually been allowed to use it provided that she didn't do something absurd.

"Rider…"

He started, exercising caution. Though he did want to make sure another coming of the 'Shooting Star' incident, he also didn't want to get in the way of Rider's happiness. Unlike with the ZX900, Rider had invested just as much, if not more, time and resources as he did to complete Bellephron.

"Yes, Shirou?"

Seeing the clear glint of excitement in Rider's eyes, a stark contrast to her still calm face, he gathered his will. He needed to put his foot down here.

"Rider, considering this is mainly your project… I know you want to test drive Bell, but I think it might be better if I do the initial tests?"

He prepared himself for the counterattack.

Rider was the one that took what means it required to get what she wanted. She would tease, argue, and bribe her way if she felt that it was fully justified.

"I agree."

So when she inevitably answered that she would instead be the more appropriate test driver—

"Huh…?"

"I agree Shirou, I do think you should be the first to test drive Bell."

"Wah-? Huh?"

Rider chuckled at his clear surprise over her lack of resistance. He needed to spend a few moments trying to comprehend the response.

"Shirou, though I know you see me as some kind of irresponsible driver that would find any excuse to get on a high speed vehicle and take it to speeds that's normally impossible… I've grown quite a bit."

"I don't just 'see' you as one. You 'are' one."

Despite his attempts to properly convey that he wasn't being fooled by whatever ruse she was trying to pull on him, he made sure to give her a flat stare.

"Shirou, you need to understand that Bellephron is important to me. Unlike the ZX900, this one is one I've helped create with my own hands. If anything, Bell is our child of sorts-"

"Ggah… uhk!"

"—and as our child, I care far too much to be reckless with her usage. Bell had just been built, she's barely a day old… I want to make sure that she's not damaged on her first run, so I think its best that you're the one that test drives her first."

He choked at the phrasing but Rider had continued on without hesitation. Quickly thumping his chest and drinking some tea, he made sure not to comment on the part that was clearly meant to tease and fluster him and instead he looked at Rider straight in the eyes to see if there were any chance she was attempting something sneaky.

Rider confidently stared back. Golden brown eyes met purple and a short battle of wills between the former hero of justice and the gorgon of legend ensued.

"Rider, you aren't planning anything with Bell aren't you?"

Intent on revealing the schemes of the villain, he went straight to the heart of the matter.

"I have absolutely _no plans regarding Bell_ nor will I do anything without telling you. All I ask is that I ride along with you on the first run."

"…"

Their eyes were still locked, and even then he couldn't find anything. From what he could see, Rider was speaking the complete truth and wasn't hiding anything regarding the Bellephron.

He did find that there was something off still, so he hesitated.

"Shirou, you couldn't possibly be thinking of denying me the right to accompany our Bell on her first Run aren't you? That would be akin to a father denying the mother the chance to witness their baby's first steps."

Still not breaking the eye contact, he sensed hint of worry and regret in Rider's eyes. The unfair attack had done a significant amount of damage to his will.

They had never ridden in tandem before. Rider had never had any real reason to ride with him when he was the one driving, and he never accompanied Rider primarily because he was a sane human being that didn't like experiencing Mach 1 and above on ground based vehicles. It was natural for him to be doubtful.

However, despite his reservations with regards to the wording choice for Bellephron, he did find that it completely and accurately described their collaborative efforts to make it. It also fully allowed him to understand how unfair it would be to Rider if he didn't allow her to ride with him just because he was being unnecessarily suspicious especially when he can't catch a single lie in her words.

"Guh…. Fine. Promise that there won't be a repeat of the Shooting Star Incident."

"I swear upon my name as Medusa, the gorgon of legend, and on the name of Sakura Matou-Emiya, my one true master, that I shall not, in any shape or form, recreate the Shooting Star Incident with Bellephron."

Rider's face became solemn as she swore. A face that he hadn't seen for a long time, a face that actually reminded him of the Grail War.

He knew that she was being completely serious when she had invoked Sakura's name. Within the household, that was the equivalent of geass or a command seal on the speaker and was used whenever someone wanted to convey that they would be true to their words no matter what.

Sakura didn't particularly like it when anyone of them did that, citing that it was completely embarrassing and made her feel like some kind of tyrant but they continued it in secret. Rin, for example, had recently sworn on Sakura's name that she wouldn't be doing anymore 2nd Magic experiments in the premises of the Emiya household without express permission and supervision.

"… Fine, I can see that you're serious. Let's finish the chores and we can go and take Bell for a ride on the outskirts."

"Understood. Thank you Shirou for understanding."

Despite the fact that he did indeed believe that Rider wasn't lying, he still felt a sense of foreboding.

Somehow, he felt like he fell right into Rider's trap, but for the life of him, he couldn't tell what it was.

* * *

Quickly getting the chores out of the way, courtesy of a very eager Rider, he had changed his attire to something more appropriate; a pair of black jeans, and a brown parka. The parka was a bit thin, one of those designs that was somehow supposed to be used in summer, but he settled on it on the account that it was better than wearing just a long sleeved shirt in the cold climate.

Sunday just happened to be the day they set for laundry this week and he didn't actually have much of a choice on what to wear, considering they've already bundled up and soaked the most of the dirty clothes in preparation for the wash later.

Getting into the shed, he quickly rolled Bellephron out of the shed and did a cursory check on its condition. Using Structural Grasping, he was able to quickly look at the bike, determining if there were any loose fastenings or even any damaged parts that they had somehow overlooked during the build.

"Everything seems to be fine…"

"Shirou, are we ready?"

"Yeah, we just have to move Bell to the…."

Turning towards his partner, he couldn't help but feel that maybe he really should've have had so readily agreed to the tandem riding thing, primarily due to Ride's choice of attire.

"Rider… what the heck are you even…?"

"Ah… well, you see, Taiga had given this to me after the Shooting Star Incident, saying something about it being the perfect outfit for me. Since I wasn't actually able to use it due to the temporary ban, I had forgotten it until now."

Rider was sporting leather. Leather pants and a leather jacket. Though normally, that wouldn't have been a problem by itself, what made it complicated was the fact that said leather jacket was completely open, revealing that rider was wearing a midriff bearing black tank top that seemed one size too small and nothing else.

"Don't… you have anything else to wear?"

"Nothing appropriate I'm afraid. I had put my usual attire along with the laundry, naively assuming that the clothes Taiga had given me would have sufficed. It certainly did, though the jacket and top are a bit… brief."

When she saw her give a teasing smile, he realized that he may have been staring a bit too long and coughed a few times to cover the slip. He didn't know if it was some kind of ruse or just another attempt to tease him, but at this point he couldn't just back down after giving his word that they would test drive Bellephron together.

"Ahem… anyway… let's get Bell to the gate."

"Roger. Leave that part to me. We've just cleaned the floors yesterday and I'd rather not make that effort meaningless."

Willfully evading looking at Rider's form, he set out to get their helmets from the shed. Entering inside, there were three helmets hanging on the wall. The plain black one was his, the one with purple accents was Rider's, while the Tiger helmet's owner was completely obvious.

Grabbing what he needed and checking the key in his pocket, he went out to follow Rider who was casually carrying Bellephron through one of the halls of the household. Unfortunately, that was the only way to get the bike out to the gate without going through the trees, which might scratch the paint on the bike.

Hurrying after Rider who had already passed the gate, he made sure to lock up the house and concentrated.

 _"Anfang Mittelstand."_

As he spoke the words while channeling his prana, he could feel a dome forming around the compound. The bounded field, the same one employed in the Tohsaka manner, was brought up, one meant to ward off any invaders.

"Looks like we're all ready. Shirou, if you will?"

With a nod, he got on the bike and started the engine. Just like before, the sound of the revving engine felt like music to their ears. Giving another cursory check to everything, he nodded at Rider to tell her to get on.

With a smile, Rider nodded back and obliged and proceeded to grab on to him.

Right before he wore his helmet, he finally realized that he had completely disregarded the severely powerful set of weapons that was now being wielded against him. Two very large and very soft globes of flesh pressed onto him, causing a unique status effect that involved paralysis, confusion, and extreme embarrassment.

"O-oi, Ride… you're pressing on me…!"

Unable to hide the panic in his voice, he could almost see the amusement and teasing smile on Rider's face, despite the fact that his back was turned to her and she was already wearing her helmet.

"Ah, well it can't be helped can't it? I'm a rather large woman you see and there's only so much room on Bell. Unless of course, you want to switch?"

"G-Guh, damn you…"

"Ufufu, well then, it seems you've come to a decision. Now Shirou, shall we start the test drive?"

As Rider spoke, she embraced him just a bit tighter, further pressing her body to his back. It reminded him of the various dreams that he would prefer to keep locked into the deepest recess of his mind.

He really could just remedy this situation by allowing Rider to be the driver, however that would mean he would fall exactly into Rider's trap. That wasn't something he would just let go.

Hence, with will of steel and fire in his veins, he valiantly purged himself of his base desires and wore his helmet, intent on focusing on nothing but the ride.

He had faced countless impossible battles before this and lived to tell the tale so he would have to do so one more time.

* * *

They tore through the city road at the maximum speed allowable, making a beeline for the main road connecting Shinto and Miyama. He of course possessed a license, as did his wily partner, though the latter did acquire hers through the magic of bribery.

The large buildings of the city gradually faded from view as they sped on, navigating through the road and the Sunday traffic. Instead of going to the Miyama area however, they went the opposite direction, going towards Mount Enzo.

The large buildings started to grow few as they increased their speed, slowly leaving the more commercialized and industrialized areas for the more rural feel of the outskirts of the city.

Taking a turn right before the temple steps, they increased the speed further as they took to the more quiet areas of Fuyuki.

Despite his misgivings towards the Shooting Star incident, Shirou did in fact, wanted to actually know what it felt like to go that fast. Going fast had always somehow felt calming, a strange contrast to the thrill and adrenaline that one would normally associate with the act.

Of course, that wasn't something he was ever going to admit to, seeing as Rider may start capitalizing on that knowledge, so it was a fact about himself that he didn't tell anyone, not even Sakura.

The roads on the outskirts were still in good condition, but compared to the roads within the city proper, the ride was a bit bumpier in comparison. A fact that he was made keenly aware.

His strength of will and focus had already taken several major hits, as every time he slowed down and sped up, the weapons pressed on his back were reinforcing and re-exerting their presence on his mind. If his will was translated into a bar, several chunks of it had been lobbed off all the while it was taking damage over time.

Once they had entered a rather bumpy section, said weapons had unleashed what was likely the most powerful attack in their arsenal, almost breaking his focus in driving.

Sighting a small store, he decided it was time to take a breather and recover some of his will before it gets taken down to zero.

Slowing down, he took to the side of the road, near a clear field of grass, and put Bellephron to a stop. He unfortunately did not expect the final attack of the massive weapons and almost lost all of his will was extinguished as they made a final press to his back.

"Fufu, Shirou, I'll go get us something to drink, you should take it easy there."

Likely having his mind read, a special skill that all women in his life seemed to possess, he took off his jacket and hung it on the bike. Wanting to recover, he laid down on the grassy field to look at the blue sky.

The clouds blocked out the sun, and the cold breeze in the air kept him refreshed. Taking a few deep breaths, he relaxed himself until Rider got back with a can of tea.

She took of her leather jacket as well and sat beside him. He made properly sure to not look towards her way due to the angle of his view, a position that was likely taken intentionally.

"Looks like Bell is doing fine."

Rider had placed the canned tea on his hand but he didn't feel like getting up at the moment.

"Looks like it yeah. We did a good job with Bellephron. Want to be the one to drive her home?"

"Hmmm…? You know, if it only took a can of tea to convince you, then I really should've done this a long time ago."

Rider's eyes widened at the sudden offer, letting out a chuckle of amusement at the sudden change of heart. Really, he didn't think he would be able to take another tandem with Rider pressing on him.

It was bad for his heart.

"So Shirou…"

"No going beyond the speed limit."

Before the topic could even be brought up, he decided to nip the bud. Though he was curious about how it would feel like to go that fast, he wasn't going to encourage breaking the law and possibly endangering the random civilians.

 _"… But Shirou."_

He immediately recognized the change of tone but was far too late to react. Rider had already mounted him, her lower body pressing down on his waist, her hands on either side of his head, planted on the grass. Her face was dangerously close, her eyes showing the intent to get what she wanted, and her smile telling him what she intended to do to get it.

Despite that however, what he managed to focus on was the fact that all this time, Rider had apparently forgone underwear in her current attire, which managed to explain a few things.

"Shirou. Don't think I didn't _notice._ "

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

Immediately removing her eyes from its focus on Rider's body, he had met her eyes once again to resume the battle of wills. Unfortunately, he was already at a severe disadvantage.

His reply was truthful. Though he wasn't a good liar, Rin had taught him enough that he could respond vaguely without revealing the truth.

"Shirou, I could feel it while we were riding. I know _exactly_ what you were thinking. Did it feel great Shirou?"

"You'll need to be more specific here Rider, I still don't know what you're talking about."

Another lesson from Rin. When being pressed for an answer with vague questions, he needed to respond just as vaguely and determine the enemy's intentions by having them define what they wanted to know.

"You wound me Shirou. Haven't we gotten close enough that you can be honest with me about anything? Why didn't you tell me that-"

He heart stopped as he waited for the continuation of the accusation. He was already prepared to deny any and all accusation regardless of the contents. He had already formed the counter arguments in his head just to be sure.

"-You love going fast just like I do!"

 _'So this is what they called a curve ball'_ was the thought the first thought in his head, as every argument he had in defense of his honor had faded, along with his motivation.

"I could properly feel your heartbeat throughout the ride and felt that you also loved the thrill of a fast mount. Believe me Shirou, the faster and harder you go, the better it feels."

In a rare moment, Rider actually broke her usual calm and collected personality and was rather animated as she preached the greatness of going fast, all the while phrasing it in ways that would have made him rather uncomfortable if he was still a teenager.

Despite the amount of time they had already spent with each other, it seemed there was still a lot to learn about each other.

Apparently, another thing that gets her rather riled up was the prospect of converting another to the doctrine of reckless speed freaks.

"Don't worry, since you've generously offered, this time I'll be taking the lead. I'll show you exactly how good it feels."

"Ah… sure. Just… just remember your promise."

Feeling a distinct sense that he had somehow lost, he took the can of tea and downed it in one go.

Handing the keys to Rider, they both got on the bike and he grabbed on, making sure that his arms were on the waist area and wouldn't be going anywhere else no matter what.

"Alright Shirou… I'll show you what it means to have a Riding skill of A+."

* * *

"I apologize…. I went a tad bit overboard back there…"

Sounding genuinely apologetic, Rider helped me get into the dining room.

Confirming his theory that servant skills allowed said servant to break the laws of the world, Rider had taken Bellephron, and him, to a wild high speed lap of the entirety of Fuyuki. It was at that time, he had realized that he made a grave mistake with the wording of the promise she made her swear unto.

The exact promise was that she wouldn't repeat the Shooting Star incident so any action that doesn't contribute to that was fair game. Rin would probably be disappointed that lessons she had given him on properly writing a contract wasn't put to proper use.

Instead of going straight back home, Rider had sped through Fuyuki and straight into Miyama, did a single lap of the entire area. She then went back to Fuyuki, did another lap around, before finally going back home, ending the high speed experience by drifting the bike a full 180 degrees as it came to a stop in front of the gates of their home.

All throughout, Rider had managed not slow down, settling for drifting when she needed to make a turn, utilizing her advanced senses as a servant to properly navigate the streets and the oncoming traffic without crashing into anyone or anything. It was a speed that he needed to actually utilize reinforcement to make sure he could hold on.

By the time it was over, his entire body felt numb due to being exposed to speeds and gravitational forces that mere human beings such as himself, despite the fact that his body was far from ordinary, was never meant to experience. Mach 1 wasn't a realm were normal humans could exist in without proper training or equipment.

"Umm… Shirou… again I apologize. I had failed to consider that you didn't have a body made for such things nor did you have training for them…"

"Ughh…."

He did indeed recognize that she really had the best intentions in mind. It seemed she was being truthful about letting him experience what it was like to go at insane speeds and had simply forgotten the fact that he wasn't a servant.

A simple mistake that anyone could have made.

Managing to finally sit up and rest his back on the wall. He glared at Rider to convey his feelings regarding the matter.

"W-Well… Hmm…. it seems you've thoroughly enjoyed my chest pressing onto you before, so in exchange, I'll allow you to touch them as you please?"

He recognized the attempt to lighten his mood, truly he did.

Rider lacked the usual aura of teasing she had, especially when her smile was reserved and her face more ashamed than anything else.

But then, he recalled the entire morning, the events after, and the reaction she had from the kiss he had given her yesterday. Just for a moment, he wanted to see that reaction again, just as a way to get his revenge on the teasing.

Then those stupid dreams popped up in his head and once more, and he moved before he could think.

"U-ummm… Shirou?!"

Grabbing Rider, who was sitting seiza to his side while facing him, he pulled her close so that her back laid on his lap and the back of her head was resting on his shoulder.

He then grabbed her chest. With both hands.

"A-Ahnn… Shirou, wait… I know that—hnnn!"

Due to the lack of underwear, he was free to move his hands around. He moved and kneaded the soft mounds of flesh skillfully, a technique that had been honed through Sakura's tutelage.

"W-wah….! W-wait…! Hnnnnaaaah….!"

He cleared his mind and heart as he unforgivingly served Rider's punishment, continuing his gentle, yet strong 'massage'. Utilizing his knowledge and experience, he made sure Rider knew that provoking such a situation was a mistake.

"A-ahnn…hnggg!"

* * *

The awkwardness had returned in full. The two of them were sitting in seiza in front of each other. One of them, with a completely calm countenance, while the other was so red in the face that they were likely to explode.

In a strange turn of events, Rider was the latter. Not even able to look Shirou straight in the face out of embarrassment.

"…"

"…"

The two of them kept silent. Shirou, in apparent contemplation, while Rider was unable to find any proper words to say.

"Rider."

"Y-yes?"

Despite trying to compose herself, Rider had answered with a voice that was a mixture of embarrassment and yet somehow hopeful for something she didn't actually know what for.

"I think we should call it a night."

"Y-yeah. I think we should get some sleep as well."

Finally finding a reason to break free from the awkwardness, both of them stood and turned towards their rooms.

While Rider was dealing with the embarrassment due to… various things, Shirou was dealing with the fact that he felt like a complete idiot.

"Okay, I… probably should call Sakura…"

Yesterday was something that could be passed off as a whimsical moment, what he did today was nothing short of unforgivable to both Sakura and Rider.

Hence, he intended to face the music properly.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

 **==[Rin Tohsaka - More Sisterly Bonding]==**

"… and I think that's why I still keep getting bigger there."

Rin stared at her madly blushing sister. The two of them were sitting against the wall, catching up on the things, until the inevitable topic of Sakura's still increasing chest size was brought up.

Being a full-fledged magus, she decided that it was of absolute importance that she be able to determine the source of the mystery, the factors the affected said results, and how to replicate them in under controlled conditions.

She pressed Sakura for the answers, and thought her sister was too reluctant and embarrassed to give a straight answer, she had managed to talk convince her sister that it was for the sake of improving their sisterly bonds.

Of course, at the time, she certainly wasn't expecting to be given a detailed description of her sister's sex life and certainly wasn't expecting that Shirou was both a stamina freak and had, over the years, become some kind of master technician. Though she took note of both for future teasing.

She had meant to lightly tease her sister over the matter but then the thought of actually going through the same thing with Shirou, the thought managed to make her heart beat quite a bit, though that wasn't something she would admit even at Noble Phantasm-point.

Then again, she had been, maybe slightly, maybe just a bit, influencing Sakura throughout the years with several conversation topics, well placed suggestions, and maybe some desensitizing with regards to _those kinds_ of relationships, but she never really expected them to bear fruit.

"Nee-san? What's wrong, you suddenly went quiet."

Suddenly, the realization hit her. That the current situation that Shirou was likely finding himself in was likely a result of her actions.

On one hand, she did feel the need to apologize.

On the other hand, he was going to be getting together with Rider with Sakura's blessing and she felt just the tiniest bit peeved at that.

"Nothing… just… being reminded of an experiment in the past. So, tell me, what was like the longest time you and Shirou went at it?"

"H-Huh!? Nee-san, that's completely—"

"You just told me in detail how he 'pets' you. Are you really going to be embarrassed about a question like that? I mean, it's not like you did it in some… strange…"

Sakura was looking away, the redness of her face somehow intensifying.

"Wow Sakura, just, wow. Well… time, place, position. Come on!"

"Nee-san!"

Apparently, her sister was a lot more daring than she gave her credit for.

Before she could press for the details however, the sound of a piano melody could be heard in Sakura's pocket.

"Ah, that's senpai."

"Honestly, I still don't get why you call Emiya-kun that even know."

"Ah, well I think it's for the same reason you still call senpai 'Emiya-kun' after all these years, Nee-san."

Sakura picked up her mobile, which was apparently called a 'smart' phone. She didn't quite understand why it was called smart nor why it seemed so unnecessarily complicated when regular phones existed honestly.

"Oh…"

She could see the surprise in Sakura's face to what was apparently some kind of news Shirou was likely breaking to her.

"Oh, no no senpai. Don't worry about it. That's great!"

She could see the smile on Sakura's face and her free hand assuming the 'guts' pose.

"Ahaha, like I said. I'm not angry or disappointed. In fact, I'm happy. I've always wanted you and Rider to get closer…"

Ah, so it was Sakura's plan finally coming to fruition. She had to hand it to Shirou, despite his denseness, he moved fast.

Then again, it may have been Rider's initiative instead.

"Shirou."

"…"

Rin found herself a bit surprised at that. The times she could recall Sakura calling Shirou by name instead of senpai were far and few in between.

"I love you and I also love Rider. I mean it when I say I don't mind and in fact, encourage you to continue."

Understanding that the conversation would take a while, she decided to leave the room to get both of them some snacks. It took her a few minutes, but she managed to get them a few cans of drinks and chips. Cola for her, tea for the sister.

When she came back, she found Sakura still talking on the phone.

"Still not done?"

"Ah… well actually, my conversation with senpai ended a minute ago. I'm talking to Rider this time."

She smiled at that. It looks like Shirou wasn't the only one struggling with the 'new' arrangement that Sakura was planning.

Having had time to think for herself when she went out, she also came to a decision of her own.

Rin smirked at the thought.

Now all she needed was to get Sakura on board with the idea.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

At lastmandstanding's request, this oneshot has been continued as part of the monthly one-shot series (though i am indeed, a bit late once again).

Having replayed and reviewed fate material, Shirou's actually the kind of guy that acts on these kinds of things when he sets his mind to it.

Of course, Tohsaka is indeed the original cause of everything, as she usually is with these kinds of stuff.

Thank you for all the favs and follows, as well as the reviews. Have never actually written something like this before so didn't know how it would be received.

Thank you for reading!


	3. A Date with Cloth

So here's the next installment of Acting on a Dream.

As usual, this one is at the request of Lastmanstanding.

Thank you to all the people that have decided to read and follow this story!

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

" _Rider, I love you and Shirou, so please, I want you to go for it. I want you to be happy too."_

The voice of her one true master resounded in her head as she was once again inside Shirou's room, staring at his still and quiet, sleeping visage. It was sometime around three in the morning, a full hour having already passed by since she came into the room.

The night before had been, if she were to categorize her feelings on that situation, 'enjoyable'. Of course, she was well aware of Shirou's 'skills' since Sakura had been prompted to share it to her after some teasing and prodding but, as she had learned before and would likely learn again in the future, knowledge and actual experience were completely different.

Though the act didn't last long, she could still, even now, vividly imagine how Shirou was caressing her chest, kneading and pressing at just the right areas that she couldn't help but—

"Hnn…"

The sound of Shirou's voice as he stirred made her aware of what her thought process was quickly devolving to, thankfully giving her the presence of mind to delve into that particular memory at a later and more appropriate time.

She didn't like lying to herself however, so there was no point in denying that she did enjoy it being touched by Shirou. Of course, that pleasure was also accompanied by a strong sense of guilt since she felt like she was betraying Sakura; an emotion that compelled her to call the girl to confess her sins as soon as she could.

To her utter surprise, not only was her master not angry at what she had confessed, but she actually sounded _happy and excited_. The disparity between her expected response from Sakura and the actual response she got from her master was so large that she actually had to spend at least half an hour clarifying what Sakura was getting at.

It seemed that yes, her beloved master was indeed not only willing to share Shirou but was even actively pushing for it.

It was only after the call to Sakura had ended that Rider had come to realize that recently, in the past few months, her master had indeed been getting the two of them to spend more time together. She did find it odd that she had found herself more often accompanying Shirou on various errands.

She didn't sleep after that call. Though servants like herself didn't actually require it, the act of sleeping was a habit she formed throughout the years to better adapt to her current life as well as a means to lighten the burden on Sakura as much as possible.

So for the first time in a long time, she decided not to sleep and instead she mulled over what it is she really wanted.

Sakura might have given her express permission and encouragement to pursue a possible romance with Shirou but she herself wasn't sure what she wanted. Romance was never part of her life, back as the gorgon of legend and now as a part of the Emiya household.

She was perfectly satisfied and content with what she has in life. Even if things stay the same, for as long as Sakura and Shirou remained happy for the rest of their lives, she would have absolutely no regrets, she would herself be perfectly happy.

If it was just her own happiness in consideration then that pursuing the possible relationship wasn't actually necessary… but then, she understood that Sakura and Shirou would also be involved. Would her becoming more intimate with the two make all of them happier?

Like everything, she approached it logically. Under the assumption that she did pursue the romantic relationship, it would mean the three of them would be together. With that in mind, she didn't think that there would be any significant changes in the family dynamic, save for sleeping arrangements and maybe having to deal with Rin and Taiga.

Going further, when she thought about it, Shirou was indeed the only man in existence that she would even considered for such a thing. Considering how unique her current situation was, it was unlikely that she would be given another chance at experiencing a relationship.

She was just a copy of the original, an instance summoned by the grail that was placed in a vessel to fight a war. The days she would spend now, the life she would have, it was likely never going to happen again.

"… It's better to regret what you have done that what you haven't. Actions not taken, words not spoken, emotions kept locked deep inside the heart, forever lingering in one's mind…"

She recalled those words. The first being a quote she had read long ago, one she had used to convince Sakura, now being reflected right back at her. She felt the irony, being faced with the situation that her master had turned to her for advice a long time ago.

"…"

She reminded herself of all the times she had spent with Shirou. The simple times, the happy times, and the hard times. From the grail war to daily life, from working together to get Sakura back in the grail war to working together to build a working motorcycle.

Before she realized it, her hand had already reached out, gently and lightly caressing Shirou's cheek as he slept.

She then recalled the kiss in the shed two days ago, the tandem ride yesterday, and the events of last night. She tried to imagine a life where that was commonplace, where such things would be put on top of the blissfully peaceful daily life they already shared… and she came to that realization.

"… fufu, how strange. I truly have to apologize to Sakura. These emotions… are so overwhelming that I can barely..."

She felt a bit humbled. Her heart beat faster than any other moment in her life, faster than even when she was doing battle with her fellow heroes.

Her fingers trembled as they traced the outline of Shirou's jaw as she truly had come to one conclusion.

"Really now… As much as I like to call you dense Shirou, it seems I'm equally as dense as you, if not more so…"

Sakura would probably smile at her words and Rin would likely agree. It seemed that she was even more unfamiliar with the concept of love than she thought. If the overwhelming emotion that her heart was being drowned in right now was what one would call love, then she truly had underestimated it.

She drew her body closer, her face approaching Shirou's. She looked at him like she was seeing him again for the first time.

"Shirou… what do you think of me?"

She whispered, the one question that was left to answer. Rider already knew Sakura's thoughts on the matter. She herself had come to an understanding on what she wanted.

All that was left was to determine the thoughts of the last person involved.

"Hmmm, well, I guess I'll just have to determine how you feel towards me don't I?"

She smiled mischievously. Recently, her inability to properly understand her feelings on Shirou's action towards her had left her utterly confused and embarrassed. Both the kiss and the massage had caught her so badly off-guard that she couldn't help but be rendered speechless by the former, and putty for the latter.

She needed to know what Shirou thought of her as a woman and thankfully, she had a veritable treasure throve of references she could use to determine said thoughts. There were quite a few innocent ones but such methods were far too slow, especially on someone like Shirou who could be rather dense.

Yes, what she needed was a method that had impact, one that would put Shirou on the spot and would get results as fast and as efficiently as possible.

She was a Rider after all. Her class had always been known to take the fastest route to their goal.

The fact that it would let her take a bit of revenge as well was just an added bonus.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

" _Shirou…. I love you and I love Rider. I mean it when I say I don't mind and in fact, encourage you to continue."_

Sakura's words echoed in his head as he ate the breakfast that Rider had prepared. Rider, despite the strides she had made in the culinary arts, had yet to properly delve into the more complex recipes so breakfast simply consisted of rice, sunny side up eggs, and sausages.

Despite his actions the night before, it seemed Rider had already moved on. Their interaction had, once again thankfully, returned to normal, based on the fact that he had been greeted with a gentle smile and good morning by the purple haired servant; no hint of awkwardness in the air.

" _I've always wanted you and Rider to get closer..."_

As Sakura's word kept repeating in his head, Shirou looked at Rider, taking in the features of perhaps one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. In his eyes was one of his closest friends and confidants, a fellow warriors that he wouldn't hesitate to trust his back in times of need, a guardian whom he could entrust Sakura's life if need be, and someone that he would do everything to protect as well.

This beautiful instance of a demi-god was the one that Sakura wanted him to become intimate with.

He was already firmly aware that he was rather dense when it came to romantic endeavors. In most cases, he conferred with Rin and sometimes, Rider herself for when he needed advice. He never actually noticed that the strange bouts Sakura had in the past was actually expressions of jealousy and envy until Rin had pointed it out to him long after he and Sakura had already become an item.

It was that thought that made him hesitate. He thought back on the conversation he had with Sakura, and he tried to think of the words he had used. He was entirely sure he had properly told Sakura what he had done to Rider in the past few days in exact detail, kiss and massage and all.

From long experience, Sakura was the type that had a better grasp of romance and human relationship than he, Rider, and Rin combined. Sakura was just the type of person that understood those kinds of things, so he was sure that Sakura was indeed telling him to go and pursue a relationship with Rider.

Even then he hesitated. Despite his own actions, despite his own desire, despite those stupid dreams he'd been having about the woman in question, he still hesitated.

Maybe he was interpreting Sakura's answer in the most convenient way possible for him. Maybe she had meant something completely different. Maybe he was just being delusional.

Though he firmly understood that Sakura was being serious and literal with her words to him, he couldn't help but hold such reluctant thoughts inside him. His own desires notwithstanding, he wasn't even confident about Rider's own feelings on the matter.

She liked to tease him yes, and he liked to get his own revenge when he could, even when said revenge may cross a few lines that normally shouldn't be crossed between two close friends, especially when one of them was in a relationship… but establishing an actual romantic relationship with Rider was completely different.

"I'm… probably gonna call Sakura later…"

"Oh, did you forget to tell Sakura something Shirou?"

"Ah, well, not exactly. There's just something I need to clarify about our last conversation."

"By the way, it's quite late already, won't you need to go to work soon?"

"Ah, right, Neko-san had actually decided that I needed a vacation. I had actually forgotten until I checked my phone earlier this morning. She left a message reminding me that I'm off for the rest of the week."

Though he was infinitely better at technology than a certain Luddite named Rin Tohsaka, phones weren't really something he used unless necessary. He would have actually never gotten a smartphone if Taiga hadn't insisted on it when his old flip phone had broken.

"Hmm? How strange. I had thought that Neko-san would be the type to happily ask you to go to work, especially considering the fact that you're likely to be the one to actually inherit the shop itself."

"Found it weird too. Neko-san's the type that advocates working as much as possible so it was strange that she gave me the week off. Apparently, someone had recently convinced her that it was a good idea that her workers needed a rest."

After graduating, he had gone to try out various jobs. He was a fair hand at various things but ultimately, he ended up working at Copenhagen full-time. Due to the amount of time he had spent working at the shop, he was already capable of running the thing, a fact that had been proven when Neko-san had to leave operations to him due to a family emergency.

One thing lead to another and Neko-san had decided that he would also be more involved with running the shop, not just in the day to day operations but in the management and planning of it.

"Hmmm, I'm also off from work for the week as well. The owner of the shop had decided to take a vacation…"

"Hah, I guess we're both suddenly left with a week with nothing to do. Do you want to keep working on Bellephron? We can even begin working on a different project with the amount of free time we have."

For some reason, the realization that both Rider and him would have a week alone together gave him a strange sense of foreboding.

"Yes, that would certainly be nice… however, Shirou, you see, Sakura had left me with a certain task that I'm not quite sure I can accomplish properly."

That sense of foreboding only grew more prominent, enough that the fight or flight mechanism of his body was being triggered. His instincts were telling him that pursuing the matter further would likely lead to peril…

"Hmmm? What would that be?"

… but he soldiered on. Rider wasn't the type to lie or pretend, if she said that she wasn't confident in her ability to accomplish something, then she was definitely speaking the truth. He had relied on her for many things, so he wanted to be able to help her to the best of his abilities.

"Well, as you know, Taiga, Rin, and Sakura have all been very insistent about my choice of attire. It seemed that my wardrobe is, and I quote, 'completely inappropriate and lacking'. Sometime ago, I had promised Sakura that I would at least try and improve said wardrobe so I would like to enlist your help."

"Wait, Rider. There's something wrong with that request. I mean, It's not like I have any sense for fashion either. Why don't you just ask Tohsaka?"

One of the many similarities he and Rider had, as everyone liked to comment every now and then, was that their fashion sense was non-existent. Given a choice, he would personally choose an attire that simple, cheap, and durable.

It was a pragmatic way of thinking. A sentiment that Rider shared.

According to Sakura however, it was fine for a guy like him to have that kind of perception, but for someone like Rider, it wasn't a good way of thinking. Rin liked to call it a 'massive waste of potential'.

"That would defeat the purpose Shirou. Despite how I may seem, I do also hold my pride as a woman and hence I would like to prove to the three that I can indeed choose with my own power. However, I would like someone's honest opinion, and I do feel that yours holds merit, as you have done the same for Sakura and even Rin."

He groaned at that perfectly logical response. It wasn't like he was against it either. If not for the feeling that he was being forcefully pulled into something he would rather avoid, he would have already agreed.

Deciding that he essentially has no other way to escape, he decided to at least leave a parting shot.

"W-Well, I guess that means that even if marginally, I do have a better fashion sense than you Rider…"

"Yes. Indeed, that is the case. Hence, Shirou, won't you accompany me in shopping for clothes. I want you to properly _look at me in full_ and give your _complete and honest opinion_ on how I look."

He expected that Rider would tease back, as she usually would do, but the simple reply gave him a sinking feeling.

The smile on Rider's face only furthered said feeling.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

Sometimes he wondered why he never learned to listen to his own instincts when it told him that he would infinitely be more comfortable if he just backed off and walked out of certain situations.

Then he was reminded that ignoring those instincts were important for the sake of his loved ones and that he would keep doing so for the purpose of making them happy and safe. Unfortunately, there just times when he preferred that said happiness didn't involve his embarrassment in the equation.

The predicament he was in right now, as he waited in front of the changing booth was the perfect example of said situation.

"Shirou, how does this one look?"

Rider's calm voice could be heard before the white curtains of the changing booth parted, revealing a gently smiling rider whose head was slightly tilted to the side in inquiry. Her face was completely calm, and in any other situation, one would be convinced that Rider's intentions were pure and simple.

Of course, the fact that all of that was just an innocent front to embarrass his as much as possible was immediately realized a few minutes into the shopping trip.

"I really should've known that you wouldn't have just let those go. I really should've known…"

"Hmm… what could you possibly be talking about Shirou? Anyway, what do you think of this? You did promise to give a proper look didn't you?"

Despite having already been found out, Rider kept up the front. Her smile had actually gotten even sweeter at his comment, and she couldn't help but sound amused as she reminded him of his exact promise to her before they went inside the mall.

It had started off simple enough. Rider picked out a few sets of clothes that were part of her standard attire; plain, long-sleeved shirts of varying colors. She had him stand in front of the changing booth she was using and had him wait until she finished changing.

Every time, she would open the curtain to show him her choice and he would give his honest opinion. Most of the clothes were figure hugging and tight, but due to Rider's size and her preference, it was par of the course.

Of course, that immediately changed the moment Rider started wearing different articles of clothing. Slowly but surely the amount of cloth of the clothes she was showing was gradually decreasing in coverage.

First, she started wearing shoulder bearing or midriff bearing clothes. Some of which were deemed perfectly fine, while others, nothing short of scandalous when Rider was wearing them.

Both of those style of clothes were enough to properly highlight Rider's 'assets', her figure showing brightly and clearly even through the thick fabric that was covering it.

He had thought that would be the worst part but then Rider started trying on spaghetti straps and tube tops, both of which almost resulted in a wardrobe malfunction since Rider's 'assets' were far too large to be contained by the flimsy articles.

It only got worse from there.

"Now Shirou, focus on me. Both front and back, I want you to properly look at every angle to make sure you can form a suitable conclusion."

With a blush creeping up his face, he reluctantly looked at Rider's current choice of attire. It was a tight, figure hugging, black midriff-baring crop top with a plunging neckline. Whoever designed the crop top had made sure that there was ample cloth to cover the shoulder up to the wrist but had somehow barely managed to scrounge up enough cloth to cover the chest area.

He had a feeling that the crop-top that Rider had chosen was probably a size too small. It _had to be_ a size too small. Though the thing seemed to fit perfectly on her arms, the cloth on the front area seemed to be a tad too tight, to a point that there wasn't really anything left to the imagination when it comes to Rider's figure.

Seeing that was already enough to destroy most common men, but what was perhaps the most apparent as he looked at Rider was the fact that it was so blatantly obvious that she had chosen to not wear anything underneath the crop-top.

It didn't help that Rider was leaning slightly forward, an act that made everything even more apparent to him.

"R-R-Rider, at least wear something underneath! A-and isn't that a bit too small for you?"

Summoning all his will and fortitude, he managed to still his heart that was about to make a triple pirouette from the sight of Rider's entirely too revealing choice of attire.

"Fufu, sorry, this was the largest size they had available. I do think you're right though, it _is_ a bit small. I couldn't wear my bra because doing so would make this impossible to wear otherwise."

"If it doesn't fit, then don't try wearing it, please! Change to something else!"

"Ara~ but I wanted to know your opinion on this kind of clothing Shirou. Also, you haven't commented on skirt yet. What do you think of them?"

Rider turned her body a bit so that he could see the side of her body.

He groaned internally as he forced himself to look down to see her 'skirt' or what was apparently considered a skirt in modern times. The black denim skirt was certainly stylish but he felt that they were a bit too _short_. He knew that Rin in particular favoured 'mini' skirts but this was mini enough that it really wouldn't be able to hide _anything_ at all.

Viewing Rider's body from the side truly made his heart do flips since the outline of her body was made so clear from the tight, figure hugging outfit that he was very much reminded of the dreams he would have of Rider. The more questionable ones in particular.

"So Shirou, do you like what you see?"

With a sultry voice, Rider asked with a smirk, and though he wanted to remain as calm as he could, he was sure his efforts were in vain based on glint in Rider's eyes.

"Ye—I-I mean, Rider, you really should change. Please. This is a bit too excessively revealing and it doesn't seem appropriate to wear in public."

"Ara, that's a shame. It is indeed rather difficult to be at my size… fufu, being small really is far more preferable."

Despite the happy expression on Rider's face, he could feel a bit of somberness as she mentioned her size. Rider always did have a complex about her size.

"You're fine the way you are. Besides, I'm taller anyway so it's fine right?"

Not willing to let Rider down herself regarding her size, he instinctively spoke his thoughts.

Rider's face quickly shifted to mischievous and amused to surprise.

"Ah… yes. Yes indeed. You've really grown tall Shirou, taller than me even…"

Before he could realize, Rider had stepped out of the changing booth and had already approached him. He could hear surprise in Rider's voice, like she was just realizing the fact that he was indeed taller than her now.

"Jeez, I'm already a few inches taller than you."

"Yes, yes you are. It feels like it was just a while ago that I still needed to angle my head down when I would talk to you, yet now… I can look up."

He did his level best to ignore Rider's attire and focused on her face. He could see her eyes hidden behind the pair of glasses that supressed her mystic eyes. Eyes filled with wonder, as if she had been pleasantly surprised by something. The mirth was already gone.

They had stayed like that, eyes locked onto each other for a few moments, before the sound of nearby footsteps made him realize that they were in a public place and Rider's attire wasn't in any suitable for the public.

"O-okay, umm, Rider, I think we've gotten you enough clothes from here. Go change so we can get to the counter and pay for this."

"Fufu, quite a gentleman. You know Shirou, I have no intention to be fined for public indecency so please rest easy, and this is only something I'd wear in _private_."

"Just… just go get changed already."

With a chuckle, Rider went back to the changing booth at a deliberately slow pace. She gave him one final glance and a smirk before going inside and closing the curtain.

When the curtains opened once again, Shirou was utterly relieved that Rider was back to wearing her closed black long sleeved shirt and jeans. In her right arm were several articles of clothing, particularly ones that he had given a pass to. On her left were all the ones that he had failed for the safety of the populace.

With a nod, he took the clothes that they would purchase and called a nearby clerk. The female clerk seemed to stare at both of them for a moment, in an apparent daze, before quickly taking the clothes they had no intention of buying and thanking them for their patronage.

He had been the one to pay for the clothes of course. Rider seemed like she was about to say something, but quickly decided to simply allow it.

Bags in hand, Shirou sighed in relief that their little trip was coming to an end.

A hope that was swiftly and cruelly crushed the moment he realized they weren't heading for the exit.

"Rider… err, where are we going?"

That sense of foreboding came back in full force, telling him to turn back now or face the consequences. As he noticed that the shops they were getting to happened to be places were less men and more women seemed to be going around in.

"Hmm, to the other shop Shirou. There was one that Sakura had recommended to me some time ago you see and I wanted to check it out."

"W-wait. Hadn't we bought enough clothes? What kind of stuff can you find in the other shop that you couldn't find in the last one?"

"Hmm, Shirou what are you talking about? The last one did sell what I needed to buy but it's better to go to a specialty store for this one in particular."

"A… specialty store?"

"Yes. After all, when it comes to my size, normal stores may not have ones to your taste, so it's best we try this store here."

They stopped in front of the store that Sakura had apparently recommended. He was almost afraid to turn his head to see if his fears were founded, but seeing perhaps the sweetest smile that had ever graced Rider's face, his head mechanically turned to see what the products displayed on the storefront.

Just like before, mannequin bodies were lined up, fitted with the store's specialty products. Said products were intricately designed, came in various colours and types, most of them filled with lace.

It was a _lingerie_ store.

"… Rider."

He spoke the name of his warden, already trying to find a means that would allow him some kind of reprieve.

"Let's go in quickly Shirou. It's best we start so we can get back before dinner."

"Wai—"

Before he could even finish his protest, Rider had already grabbed and embraced his left arm, and pulled him into the store.

Due to their position, Shirou didn't notice the redness of Rider's face which was just as red as his own.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

On one hand, every time she remembered the expenses that would be accrued from the hotel they're staying at, she couldn't help but shudder. Her magecraft was heavily reliant on monetary resources and she needed to make sure to save as much as she could; even at the expense of everyone she knew and loved calling her 'the great miser of Fuyuki'.

On the other hand, she did have to admit that having more space in the room and being able to eat food that didn't look like it was bought from a convenience store and heated up in those strange appliances that emit some kind of radio signals was definitely a plus.

"Anyway, Sakura, you really think it's gonna work out? Rider and Emiya-kun happen to be the kind of people that puts your interest above pretty much anything else."

As Rin ate the surprisingly well made breakfast, she decided to broach the topic. Though the situation that her sister was trying to enact was certainly a result of her own machinations, she wasn't kidding about the fact that Rider and Shirou's devotion to her sister was actually the greatest barrier to success.

"… Well, I'm not really too worried about Rider. You know how she's like Nee-san. When Rider really does make the decision, she's the type that'll pursue it without fail. Besides, I know for a fact that Rider actually loves senpai very much."

"Hmmm, well Rider aside, what about Emiya-kun? You know what's he's like. Heck, hell would freeze over before he actually did anything of his own volition if it meant betraying you. You may have given permission but the blockhead's probably trying to find a hidden meaning to it all."

"Ahaha, yes, Senpai is like that isn't he?"

Sakura gave her a proud and happy smile, one that Rin couldn't quite help but return. Though her sister had a jealous streak, the thought of Shirou actually playing around was about as impossible as Edelfelt and her getting along.

The only real worry was that women had the tendency to fall hard and fast for Shirou. It actually got bad enough that Rin herself had to enact a plan to make sure that the entire city knew that the man was spoken for.

Now that was a fun memory.

"Anyway Nee-san, though I do think you're right like usual… well, you see, Rider's the type that will push for her goal and well, Senpai is umm… once he's put on the spot, he's not the type that wold also hesitate…"

"Ohh~ well now. If you say so, then I'd have no choice but to believe you."

The conversation could have ended there and they could have talked about countless other mundane things while having breakfast but that last statement from her sister was too perfect to pass up.

Rin decided that it was time to enact her plan.

"So… when you say Emiya-kun's not the type that would hesitate, I assume that's the same thing that happened when you had your most passionate and longest session ever?"

As casually as mentioning the state of the weather, Rin went on the offense, delivering a direct and effective as her sister almost choked at her sudden question.

"Nee-san…!"

"I mean, if you're willing to tell me in complete detail about how you had your first few times and how he goes about massaging your assets, then why wouldn't you tell me about this?"

Faced with her sister's indignation, Rin pursued the topic without hesitation.

"I mean, since we've gotten to this hotel and started talking, I've noticed an increasing level of deviancy with the stories. I doubt it's about position or anything because you've told me some reaaallly racy stuff so maybe… it's because of the place?"

She had already formed every argument in her head as she was forming her plan, not wanting to give her sister anytime to recover during her onslaught of questions.

"U-ummm…"

Rin smiled at the favourable reaction.

"Outside maybe, in the front yard? You've probably done it in every room in Emiya-kun's house anyway…"

"Wait, no, that's not—"

"In public? Like one of those—"

"NO. I'm not, there's no way…!"

She immediately analysed all the bits and pieces of information that Sakura had provided and shown through her facial expressions and body language.

Since the start, Sakura was forthcoming about the details of her sex life with Shirou. Very forthcoming. Rin had yet to actually properly digest the information regarding Shirou's technical ability to stimulate a woman's breast.

Rin was pretty open about those things as well, but then the two people involved in the act happened to be her sister and her best friend, and there was just the slightest bit of awkwardness in there. Of course, her curiosity regarding the matter outweighed the awkwardness, somewhere around a ratio of 90:10.

Hence, Rin concluded that it was strange for Sakura not to speak of the details regarding her longest time she had had sex with Shirou. It didn't add up. She was missing a factor in the equation.

Until it finally hit her.

"Hmm… yes, Nee-san?"

Rin's eyes were closed as she deeply focused. This was a golden opportunity, a one of a kind situation that would likely never come again, so she needed to thread carefully.

"It was in my house wasn't it?"

"Eh…?"

That was the conclusion that she had arrived to. If Sakura wasn't hesitating to share everything else, then the only factor that would prevent her sister from sharing this one was the fact that it involved her somehow.

"N-N-Nee-san! T-That's….!"

From snow white to bright red, Rin saw Sakura's color change drastically as the younger sister frantically attempted but failed to actually say any words of denial.

Rin gave a flat stare to her younger sister, but her mind was solely focused on milking the opportunity for all its worth.

"Really now Sakura, I know I asked both of you to look after my place when I'm gone and all, but I'm pretty sure that's doesn't imply you can have sexy times there as well. I mean, I didn't exactly forbid it but I didn't exactly think that…"

"W-wait, Nee-san, I can explain… Umm… Err, it was—"

"So where was it exactly?"

She kept pushing, doing everything she could to drive her very own sister into a corner, not even giving Sakura any leeway. If she wanted to get the results she wanted, she needed to throw mercy out of the window.

"The place is pretty big, not as big as the Matou mansion but hey, the Tohsaka mansion isn't anything to scoff at. You and Shirou are a sticklers for cleanliness and despite your increasing deviancy, I doubt that the two of you have gotten to a point that my workshop served as a viable option."

"We wouldn't do it at—"

"… the sofa then? It's a pretty nice place. The thing's pretty comfy and I have personal accounts from you that sofa sex had indeed taken place in the Matou mansion. Then again, maybe the bathroom? Hmm…"

Rin's mind was already racing a mile a minute as she pieced together more information. Though both the living room sofa and the bathroom were perfectly viable, she felt like her sister wouldn't have been so tight lipped about the affair.

Her mind grew sharper, sharper than any bladed noble phantasm could ever hope to be.

Rin considered every possible area in her house, eliminated most of them by factoring in respective personalities of her sister and best friend. She further filtered the choices by factoring in the things Sakura was already willing to share and considered the one place that would have made for absolute most deviant area in her home were the two could have done the deed.

Then, she remembered that Matou Sakura was indeed her sister and she came to the dreaded conclusion.

"Oh."

"E-eh?"

For a moment, Rin had completely forgotten her original purpose in cornering her sister. The conclusion she had reached had just been so utterly mind boggling, so completely shocking, that even she, as deviant as she already was, had been taken aback.

"O-oh… by the bloody Akasha… y-you did it in my bed!?"

"I-I can… I'm… err… yes Nee-san… we did it in your bed…"

Rin glared at her sister, her eyes filled with indignation. Sakura, to her credit, looked completely ashamed of herself.

"Sakura, what the hell!? I sleep there! I sleep in the bed where you and Shirou had your longest and most passionate…"

She was about to enact her perfectly justified wrath on her sister, give her a long lecture about boundaries and what not but as she spoke the words, she came to the realization.

That, for some reason, the stars, the planets, and the freaking root of creation had all truly aligned in her favour.

"Nee-san, I'm sorry! I-I really am… i-if there's anything I can do, anything at all!"

When Rin heard her sister's plea, every bit of indignation in her heart was immediately purged, to be replaced by utter satisfaction.

"… Anything you say?"

Yes. This was indeed bloody perfect.

It looked like she would actually get to experience the legendary techniques of Shirou Emiya after all.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

 **==[Chapter End]==**

Original plan was one chapter per day but well, the requested scene in the lingerie shop is both long and needs a good amount more of research for me to confidently pull off. Well, as usual, I hope the characters are right and proper, and that the flow of Rider's thoughts and how she arrived to her conclusion felt within character.

Hopefully, Shirou was also within character with his reaction to Sakura's request, and is reaction to Rider's plot.

As usual, thank you for the continued support and I hope to see you on the next chapter!


	4. A Date with Silk

Here's another chapter. Bit late due to catching the flu and being bedridden for quite a while.

As usual, this one's for Lastmanstanding.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

Shirou Emiya has encountered many difficult, tense, and dangerous situations in his life.

Being a participant of the 5th Grail War, he's faced beings that exceeded the limits of logic and reason, beings that held the capabilities to erase cities with little effort.

Were he to list the most dangerous encounters he had had in his life, Saber and Berserker would easily rank atop of such a list. The former, a swordsman, a knight, and a king of unparalleled skill that could cut down anything, while the latter was a raging, nigh-unkillable beast; both fought when his mind, body, and soul were slowly corroding, slipping and drifting away as each second passed.

Even after having to fight dead apostles when he needed to work with Clocktower for Rin's sake, he didn't think he would ever encounter anything beyond those two beings nor would he ever enter a battlefield quite like the grail war.

At least until he found himself in this current predicament:

 _In front of the changing booth inside a lingerie shop, waiting for the oddly thin curtains to open so that he could give his impressions to one of the most beautiful woman in the world… while she was trying on garments that seemed to be competing on how little cloth can be used, while managing to cover all the essential parts._

On one hand, he did have experience entering such shops. One notable event he could vividly remember was his first time going to one with Sakura and Rin; something that Rin had somehow managed to convince the three of them to do in order to address the supposed never-ending attention he received from the female populace.

On the other hand, he briefly looked inside his soul, looking through his entire armory, foraging on the land of steel for something that could aide him in his current battle… only to fail. Most of the weapons could help him against threats that were physical and spiritual in nature and the current opponent specialized in emotional and mental damage.

He really needed to find weapons to handle that. His armory was rather devoid of things that didn't harm the source of whatever danger he was facing.

"Hmm… Shirou, what about this?"

The moment he saw the curtain moved, he steeled himself, prepared to take on the attack. Rider's calm voice usually puts him at ease, but since the shooting star of Fuyuki was his current opponent, he needed to continually remind himself not to let his guard down.

"This is a rather standard set according to the female clerk… it's a bit similar in design compared to the other one, though this one's black lace instead of dark red, and with some additional cloth as per your request."

He felt some slight relief at Rider's words, however…

"E-err…."

… As soon as Rider's form was once again revealed to him, he felt that simply asking for more cloth was pure naivety. A facet of him that would likely need a lot of training to properly remove.

The lovely and shapely form was able to show its full destructive potential. Rider's large 'assets' were even more pronounced by the wireless black lace, push-up bra. The magical item taking what was already a dangerous weapon into something fatal.

Even further, among the complex pattern weaved by the opaque black lace were small patches of 'see-through' cloth, a feature that was likely added to further emphasize that lingerie were the kind of underwear that were supposed to be showed-off.

Such a view would've normally erased all the logic and inhibition of the common man, but he was no such thing. Set on living up to the promise he had with Rider, his eyes strayed from the too-appealing view of the upper body, to check the lower garments.

The more 'racier' variants that he had seen Sakura wear all held the same quality; more exposure and a more intricate design. However, right now, Rider was wearing something a step above that. Racy wasn't quite enough to describe it.

"How about it Shirou? A thong and garter belt combination is rather popular according to the clerk."

Right on cue, Rider, reading his mind like ever close female in his life, slowly turned her body 180 degrees to properly display the features of the supposed popular combination of lower garments.

"Grk…!"

As Rider turned, he felt like Heracles had given him a punch right into his solar plexus. The so called 'thong' wasn't just a few steps above the usual racy set, it was several thousands of leagues above it. The frontal coverage was already waning badly, but the rear coverage was essentially non-existent. The cloth simply looked like it was wedged in instead of actually covering so he could so clearly see the bare skin, allowing him to see her delicately shaped, soft and supple—

"I-It's… umm, well, black really does suit you I think…"

Immediately breaking off his thought process, lest it fall into irrecoverable territory, he scrambled to form his honest opinion without sounding like a complete idiot.

"Really? Hmmm, yes, I do favour the colour as well. What about the garter belt Shirou?"

He grimaced, having specifically tried to avoid that particular piece, trying to imagine that it was non-existent for the sake of his slowly slipping sanity.

He looked at the garter belt and stockings, finally acknowledging their presence. The garter belt itself was attached to a narrow and thin band of black lace, connecting to the stockings that went up Rider's luscious thighs. It was the first time Rider had tried on such a set, and though it did indeed significantly increase the amount of cloth involved and overall lessened the amount of skin exposure, it seemed that the set only further exemplified the allure and enticement of the lingerie set.

Once again he realized it: simply asking for more cloth was pure naivety, especially when lingerie apparently specialized in putting as cloth in strategic areas to further the attack power of the wearer.

"It's… fine…"

"Just fine Shirou?"

Hearing the hint of disappointment and sadness on Rider's voice, he almost felt the need to amend his comment. Though he wanted to avoid any troubling situations, he had no intention on implying that it didn't actually suit Rider, since that would be a bald-faced lie.

"Well, I guess I'll just take them off really quickly so you can review this set once again without it…"

Before he could speak however, he could immediately detect the mischief in Rider's voice and shut himself up.

Without closing the curtains, Rider sat on the nearby stool inside the changing booth, an act that that made him cringe as it allowed him to see how Rider's entire body moved when only restricted by underwear, and positioned herself so that her right side was facing him.

With a mischievous smile, she leaned forward ever so slightly and reached for the clips that attached the narrow bands of the garter belt to the stockings. After unclipping every single one, she then leaned slightly back and raised her left leg. Her hands reached for the edge of the stockings and, slowly and deliberately, removed the cloth from her legs. Rider had to press her legs closer to her torso, slightly pressing on her large chest, in order to remove the stocking from her current position.

She then repeated the same motions to remove the stockings on her right leg. An act that he had also silently observed.

It was only when Rider turned her back to him, leaned forward, and began fiddling with the strap of the garter belt itself, that he remembered that Rider was supposed to be closing the curtains first before removing anything.

"Rider, close the curtains!"

Despite his warning coming far, far too late, he decided that the warning should be given late than never so that, considering the contents of the store, Rider couldn't take any more advantage of it.

"Ara~ well, I figured that since the stocking isn't opaque and that the garter belt didn't really cover much, it didn't really matter if I removed it in front of you. Something similar to removing socks."

Faced with such impeccable logic and a powerful distraction, he couldn't quite find a proper retort.

"Ugh… just, please, _please_ close the curtains before you remove anything okay?"

She responded with a smile and continued.

Finally done undoing the straps of the garter belt, she struck a simple pose; her body leaning slightly forward, her arms tucked behind her and her right leg crossed behind her left.

"Of course. Now, what do you think Shirou? Do you think this is better now that I've removed the garter belt and stockings?"

"…"

That question made him freeze. From the start, Rider had made it clear that she intended to properly understand his 'tastes', something that he was entirely keen on preventing. He had been made to promise earlier that he would speak honestly, something he had managed to get around by keeping his opinions short.

Rider had noticed it and had no issue with it when they were shopping for dresses, something he was utterly thankful for.

"Shirou…?"

Apparently, Rider wasn't backing down this time.

With no other choice, he decided that this wasn't a battle he was going to win.

"Fine… fine. It's… better with the garter belt and stockings."

"Oh~ so, do you like garter belts in general Shirou?"

"…yes. Please never mention this to anyone."

Feeling completely defeated and with great reluctance, he admitted that he did find them more enticing. Rider, for her part, responded with a gentle and happy smile and a nod before closing the curtains.

As he sighed in relief, he decided that he would later have that in writing, or at least get a verbal promise or oath, just to be sure that that piece of information didn't leak anywhere. And by anywhere, he meant anywhere near Rin. He would be fine if it reached Sakura, but definitely not the more volatile older sister.

He was only thankful that Rider hadn't come around to asking if he preferred her wearing glasses while in lingerie. That was a question he'd like to avoid at all possible cost, purely because he felt like answering that question honestly would be crossing some kind of point of no return.

"Ah, excuse me sir, I have the garments that your lover had requested."

As he prepared himself for yet another assault, the female clerk approached him, carrying a large assortment of lingerie that Rider had apparently chosen to try on. There were quite a lot of see through cloth, and some weird sets of strings and ribbons.

His already blushing face went a shade darker, reminded that the two of them had posed as 'very intimate lovers' as they entered the store. A fact that he intended on remembering so he could make sure he never brought Sakura anywhere near the store in the future just to prevent any awkward rumours from spreading about.

He already had enough of those floating about. Far too many to count.

"Ah sure, I'll hand them to her after she's done in there. Thank you."

There was a time when he would have felt embarrassed at holding a pile of lingerie, but then he was an adult in a loving relationship, so it was something he could shake off with relative ease.

Of course, the reminder that the ones he was holding wasn't for Sakura and instead for Rider was a fact that he dutifully ignored with all his might.

Deciding to discreetly study the opponent's future equipment to be better prepared, he glanced at the various pieces of underwear he was carrying in his arms.

There were quite a few. He could see stockings and garter belts, and sets of brassiers and the like. However, there were a few ones that were out of place. Some were made of leather and some looked like ribbons.

He could only wonder what kind of outfit would turn out when you combine those things. Even to someone like him without any sense in fashion, he felt like the designs and color didn't match each other at all.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

She had kept her face calm and her voice never failed to convey anything but amusement, but from the moment she had entered the shop and told the clerk that she had come with her 'lover', her heart had been pounding hard enough that it felt like it would fly off her chest at any moment.

Nervousness, exhilaration, anticipation, embarrassment, hope and expectations… so many emotions and thoughts swirling inside her that she was troubled. It took everything she had to open the curtain every time she had finished changing into the risqué garment she had chosen.

Her heart beat as her nerves were rattled by the fact that the only thing separating her and Shirou was a thin curtain. The nervousness would be pronounced and paired with anticipation as she looked at herself in the mirror after changing; trying to imagine what kind of reaction Shirou would have to seeing her. She would feel embarrassment overcome her the moment Shirou's eyes fell on her form but then quickly followed by a rush of exhilaration when she sees that Shirou's clearly enamoured and appreciative of the view she provides.

She never truly cared before if her body was seen by someone else, regardless of the circumstances. In the heat of battle, to care for your appearance was nothing short of suicide. On top of that, what she considered the paragon of beauty was small and cute things, both qualities that her large body didn't hold.

His eyes were entirely different. Every time she would open the curtain, she would make sure to focus on his reactions, like the way he would discreetly trace the outline of her body or when his stare would linger at specific parts for a moment longer than necessary.

Shirou did his best to act like a gentleman towards her, which made it all the more worth it when she did see the instances when he couldn't help but break off from his usual straight-laced self and begin ogling her without reserve.

She never really thought that such a thing would be so fun.

In fact, she felt like she could spend the rest of the day just trying on increasingly risqué outfits just to see his reaction to every single one, and to firmly keep his eyes on her.

"Hmmm, next, let's try the babydoll set shall we?"

Leaning forward, she reached the strap of the bra on her back and quickly unhooked it, then removed her black thong, quickly replacing it with a purple one. She had to pay special attention so that her glasses wouldn't be removed by accident while changing.

It really was rather troublesome having to change with them on. She'd have to make sure to wear the special contacts the next time around. Though she'd need to make sure to double check with Shirou to see what he preferred.

Because she'd make sure that there was a next time to be had. And several more times if she could have her way.

"Well now, the nightgown isn't completely see-through but…"

She looked at the purple bra that matched the thong, which was normally worn under the nearly transparent and very brief, purple nightgown.

"Hmm, the garter belt really got a good reaction… this feels more like a step back…"

The obvious choice was the wear the entire set, as it was intended, however she felt like it would break the trend she was trying to set. She had started out with the most plain and safe choices, then slowly ramped it up by gradually reducing the coverage. Now that she's gone to the more fetishistic choices, the babydoll set seemed too tame.

Then an idea entered her head. A small, devilish, and embarrassing idea.

Taking a few moments to consider it, she decided that seeing Shirou's reaction would completely justify the embarrassment she would feel while wearing the gown _without the bra_.

"This might be pushing just a bit too far…"

She could feel blood rushing to her face as her heart beat faster. Even with the nightgown covering her, Shirou would definitely see her chest without much trouble, a prospect that made her heart jump both in embarrassment and anticipation.

For a short moment, she tried to imagine a situation where anyone other than Shirou would be waiting at the other side. She tried to simulate the emotions she would feel if any of the people she saw on televisions programs and movies, or any of the characters in the novels she had read, were the ones waiting outside of those curtains instead.

"Hmmm… that calmed me down a bit."

Only to feel that anyone other than Shirou would either make her feel somewhere in the range of annoyance to fury.

"He'll probably tell me to wear something that actually covers the essential parts when he sees this…"

Shaking her head of unnecessary thoughts, she struck another one of those poses she would often see in magazines oriented towards adult men, or the magazines that Sakura sometimes likes to use as a reference.

Angling her body to the side, she put her right hand behind her head, raising her elbow as she tilted her head to the sides. She kept her left hand firmly on her waist as she slightly swung her hips to the side.

Looking at the mirror, the position made it completely obvious that she wasn't wearing anything underneath the nightgown, a sight that made her pause.

She hesitated for a fraction of a second, before smiling and deciding that any embarrassment that she would feel would be trumped by the elation when Shirou inevitably stares at her.

"Shirou…"

Lacing her voice with as much sweetness as she could, she called his name as she opened the curtains. She struck the pose she did in the mirror before he could say anything, but this time, putting her chest out a bit more to highlight that particular area.

"R-r-rider…!"

Her heartbeat went even faster as Shirou's eyes were completely focused on her chest, all the while giving her an indignant shout. She smirked, thankful that Shirou was a bit too busy not staring at her face to see that she was also completely embarrassed.

"Yes Shirou? _Do you like what you see_?"

"U-um…"

She figured that Shirou wasn't really registering what she was wearing and was more focused on the things that it was trying but failing to cover instead.

She only really needed to call him out to break him out of his stupor but she was having just a tad bit too much fun with situation and decided that she'd let him stare as long as he wanted, making sure to count the exact amount of time he would spend until he realized what he was doing, and teasing him with it in the future.

"Ah…"

Spellbound, Shirou just kept staring at her, frozen on the spot, his face almost as red as his hair. It was an image that she burned into her mind.

"…?!"

Sensing a set of people going to pass by, she moved instinctively. Without hesitation, she grabbed Shirou by the shoulder and pulled him inside the changing booth, and swiftly closed the curtains at the same time.

"W-what the hell are you doing-!?"

"Apologies Shirou, I sensed that someone was approaching and I panicked slightly."

Placing her fingers on top of Shirou's lip to keep him quiet, she gave him an apologetic smile. With her focus solely on Shirou, the moment she sensed someone else she had been caught off guard, so her first instinct was to immediately secure and protect Shirou instead of just simply closing the curtain.

Several of the garments he was holding in his arms fell to the ground.

"A-alright, I think they've already walked passed us… I'll just go back out…"

Shirou, who was doing his best to twist his neck 180 degrees, was stubbornly holding on to the garments left in his arms, the blush clear on his face. Being so close to him, Rider couldn't quite help but look at him in longing.

Her mind agreed with Shirou's course of action. It was logical. Her only goal today had been to ascertain that Shirou found her attractive as a woman, something she'd already achieved. Even now, if the day were to end, she would say she had already fully succeeded and she could continue her pursuit tomorrow.

"Wait, Shirou…"

But her hand had already grasped Shirou arm, and before she knew it, her heart had already made the decision.

"R-rider…?!"

Applying a bit of her strength, she embraced his arm, pressing his toned arms into her body. Her hand traced his face as her eyes stared directly into Shirou's.

At that moment, she felt like her heart was going to explode, but her lips and her voice kept going without hesitation.

"Hey Shirou… would you help me change… please?"

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

Shirou stared into Rider's eyes and felt himself in one of those moments where he knew his decision would affect quite a lot of things in the future.

How he replied would affect his relationship with Rider, his relationship with Sakura, and likely his whole family. He didn't know how, but he was certain that there would be an effect.

He knew he could stop this. All he had to do was refuse and give a polite request. Rider may be the type that would wilfully do what she pleased when it regarded something she wanted, but she was also the type to respect other people's thoughts, feelings, and boundaries.

Right now, both of them knew that they were there, stepping on the line of that boundary. Rider had already given her decision the moment she grabbed her arm, now he was the one holding the ball.

He could go into logically analysing what he could do, list down the pros and cons of the matter in order to make sure that no one was hurt… but as he stared into her eyes, logic was the farthest thing on his mind.

' _Shirou, I love you and Rider. I mean it when I say I don't mind and in fact, encourage you to continue.'_

Sakura's words echoed in his mind as he stared at Rider's eyes.

In that moment, he decided.

He didn't know what future this would lead to, but he'd be damned sure to dedicate his life to making them as happy as he could, no matter how lacking he was.

"Okay."

Moments passed in silence as they stared at each other, spellbound. At least until Rider finally turned her back to him, grabbed both his hands, and placed them on her hips.

"Take them off for me Shirou."

"Raise your arms."

Instead of taking his hands of, he instead slid it down and traced Rider's hips, pressing on the babydoll's skirt, moving down until he could feel the hem.

Instead of grabbing the hem, he inserted his hands inside of it, touching Rider's soft and warm skin, then began removing the babydoll by moving his hands upward. From the hips, his hands moved slowly and gently up to Rider's waist, then to her back, until finally, he reached her raised arms.

Once the babydoll was removed from Rider's body, he carefully strung her long purple hair through, and hung the piece of see-through cloth on a nearby rack.

Oddly, he felt calm, even when he could clearly see Rider's bare form reflected on the large mirror.

"Next, the bottom please Shirou."

"No problem. Could you sit on the stool?"

This time, Rider turned to face him, not a hint of shyness or embarrassment on her face as she sat on the stool, her eyes never leaving his face. She wore a calm and happy smile, a stark difference from the mischievous smirk that she had worn on her face all day.

He couldn't quite help but smile in return as he kneeled in front of Rider. He firmly placed both of his hands on Rider's waist, before dragging it down to her hips. He pushed his fingers under the strings of the thong, and slowly, deliberately, dragged his hands along the entire length of Rider's luscious legs.

Finally removing the small piece of warm cloth, he looked back to Rider, who was already completely naked aside from her glasses.

At the very least, he confirmed in himself, that glasses was certainly one of his preferences.

"Shirou… what would you like for me to wear next?"

"Honestly, I'm fine with anything. I feel like you should choose."

He could hear his heart beating as he observed Rider's form.

"Then… hmmm, what about this one?"

He couldn't help but scoff a bit as Rider used her feet to grab the set of lingerie that felt looked to be a bundle of strings with some cloth.

Naturally, the act gave him a rather unique view of Rider's body. The kind of view that was liable to kill lesser beings.

"Well if that's your choice."

He started with the lower garments, one that seemed to have been made without an actual any cloth in the crotch area, and seemed to be made of nothing but strings and patterned laces. Instead of sliding both of his hands in one movement like before, this time he decided to alternate.

He would slide one of his hands a few inches up, stop, and then slide the other hand, gradually pulling the set of string and cloth up Rider's lower body.

Rider seemed to enjoy the play from her cheeky smile.

"Rider, stand up."

When his hands reached her thighs, he had her stand up. Rider placed her hands on top of his shoulders to use as leverage.

Now unhindered, he continued, until his hands finally reached her hips. However, since the string of the garment seemed to be meant to be placed on the groin, he had to fix the placement. Intent on not outright grabbing the string of the garment, he instead pushed it with his fingers while cupping Rider's thighs until it was in place.

Satisfied, he grabbed the brassiere, and stood up momentarily brushing his face on Rider's breasts due to her close proximity.

Standing straight, he once again, met Rider's eyes that looked like it had looked like it was carefully ascertaining him. Like a predator deciding the fate of its prey.

He just smiled in response.

"Turn to the mirror please."

"Ara… _be gentle with me_ Shirou~"

With a bit of slight teasing, she turned and extended her hands to the sides. He looked at the brassier to ascertain exactly how it would be worn, determining that the thing was clasped at the front instead of the back.

This time, he quickly got Rider's arms through the straps of the brassiere and due to the difficulty of actually clasping the bra in the front, he had to gently push Rider closer to him, to the point where it looked like he was embracing her from behind.

He looked at the mirror and saw Rider staring right back at him through it, so he decided to keep looking at her eyes through the mirror and to fix the brassiere that way.

Taking the edge of the hooks of the bra's closure, he slightly pushed on Rider's breasts in order to properly hook it together. Then, in order to make sure that it was properly set, he gently placed his right hand on rider's breasts, pushed it inside of the bra's closure, and then slowly swiped his hand, going from the side to the center. He then repeated the action to the other side with his left, to make sure that the brassiere was comfortably set on Rider.

"Hnnnn…..!"

He could hear a low moan from Rider and right before he could withdraw his left hand, Rider placed her palm of top of his hand and pushed it further inside the closure of her bra. She then grabbed his right hand and placed it on top of her stomach.

" _Hnn…. What do you think Shirou?"_

"Looks great on you."

He replied honestly, without resisting Rider. He adjusted the position of his left hand that was on her breast, just to make the angle more comfortable on his wrist. Eliciting another moan.

"Hnggg~! Then... I guess we'll make sure to buy this one… shall we try some more?"

"Yeah, sounds nice…"

Despite their position, their madly beating hearts, and their red faces, both of them couldn't help but laugh a bit at what they're doing.

"Then, on the next one. Shall we try on those ribbons?"

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

"… really?! No, Rider, that's amazing!"

Hearing the sound of unrestrained glee from her younger sister's voice, Rin finally removed her attention from the jeweler's loupe and turned to her sister that was dutifully standing right behind her.

"Sakura, something good happened?"

"Ah, Nee-san, it's just Rider. Apparently, they've finally made progress!"

Rin scoffed at the large smile on Sakura's face, feeling a sense of gratification that her old, long term plan had borne some fruit, a slight sense of annoyance that someone else was benefiting from it, and then a sense of curiosity over exactly what the Rider and Shirou had actually done together. Rider was basically every man's ideal and Shirou was... well, her personal preference.

"Okay… I admit that I'm a bit jealous since I've never done something like that with senpai before but I'm happier that you finally took a step!"

Now that made her even more curious. Considering what she knew of Sakura and Shirou's sex life, and she knew a significant amount, that was saying something. With the recent revelation of her sister and close friend's deviancy, she was poised to believe that they there quite a lot of things the two had gotten into that she had no knowledge of.

Which was why she had decided that one of Sakura's punishments, yes, _just one of them,_ was to reveal every heinous act of debauchery she and Shirou had committed since becoming an item.

So far, Rin had found that the two had done some really risqué things. Some of which included use of implements that could be bought from a special shops, creative use of household items, and cosplay.

"No, Rider, don't you dare apologize! Listen here, did you enjoy it or not?"

Suddenly, Rin could hear her sister taking on a strict motherly tone and she couldn't help but laugh at the fact that her sister was essentially scolding the gorgon of legend like a child.

"Rider, did you, or did you not enjoy senpai's hands caressing your body?"

Now that, that made her mind freeze momentarily. Rin didn't think it the Rider and Shirou had gone all the way, but it looked like they came close to it at least.

"So yes, you did enjoy it right? Then take a step further, don't hesitate! Rider, you've always told me that I could obtain happiness by taking one small step… I want you to follow the advice you've given me… so now, please get out of the corner of your room, approach senpai, and the two of you talk like adults! Understood? Okay, call me again tomorrow for an update!"

Rin smirked as Sakura tried but failed to put away her phone… seeing as her current outfit hand no real pockets.

"So, progress I assume?"

Rin reached out her hand, offering to take the phone, and Sakura gladly obliged with a smile.

"Ah, yes, it seems like the two have finally gotten to that decisive point."

"What exactly happened then?"

"Ah… well it seems that they shopped for clothes…"

Taking the phone from Sakura's hand, Rin then promptly inserted the phone in her younger's sister's cleavage.

She'll have to make sure to show Shirou that image someday.

"N-nee-san!"

"Don't remove it from there or I'm making you take off another piece. So what happened in detail?

"W-wait, Nee-san, isn't this a bit too much!?"

Rin's smile turned into a full shit-eating grin as she observed her younger sister fidget. It was a normal reaction, seeing as her sister was currently wearing a maid cosplay set that was a size too small for her. The top was struggling to contain the no doubt suffocating pair of assets her sister possessed, and the skirt was brief that it might as not well exist.

About the only thing preserving her sister's modesty was the frilly apron that Rin had graciously allowed her sister to wear.

It was, of course, yet another one of Sakura's punishments.

"We're inside our room so what's the problem? Anyway, details, spill."

"I-It's still embarrassing! A-and I'm not revealing Rider's private affiars…"

"Ohoh~ So, I guess you wouldn't mind getting me something from the vending machine? Perhaps the convenient store? Of course, as per the agreement, you're not allowed to change~"

Of course, she wasn't actually planning on making Sakura do anything that severe but the fact that her sister only stared back in defiance in order to defend Rider impressed her.

"Calm down, I'm just joking. Jeez, I'm not that bad Sakura."

Her sister sighed in relief but Rin had absolutely no intention of letting her sister calm down anytime soon.

"As a show of good faith, I'll even let you keep the maid outfit so you can do some saucy plays with Emiya-kun."

"Oh… ah… thank you Nee-san!"

"Ah, I see… so I you've also done the maid play with Shirou…"

"…A-ah!"

Rin laughed at how easy it was to understand her sister. She had already considered that the two got up to some raunchy maid and master plays the moment Sakura had revealed that she had cosplayed sex before. It just fit the two of them so perfectly.

On that note, she planned on tricking the butler and mistress play that they have likely already done.

After all, they were sisters, and if she had Emiya, the butler play would be at the forefront of her own mind.

"J-jeez, Nee-san! I already said I'm sorry! Please let me wear more normal clothes!"

"Hmm… what should I do… I'm really not keen on letting you off that easy. Maybe I'll let you borrow some of my old clothes and let's see how they fit!"

"Ah…"

Immediately, she saw Sakura's face light up. Immediately, her suspicion meter maxed out.

 _Snap._

Once more, her brain sounded the alarm bells from seeing Sakura's face.

She cross referenced Sakura's current reaction, to the reactions she had shown whenever she suggested something weird or risqué.

 _Then she recalled all the facts that had been presented up to this point._

 _The topic of conversation was cosplay._

 _Sakura reacted to her suggesting of using her clothes._

 _The punishment Sakura was currently undergoing is due to the fact that her sister had done the deed with Shirou on top of her own bed._

Then, once again, she came to the realization.

"SAKURA!"

"Y-yes nee-san!?"

She palmed her face hard as she couldn't help but blush at the implications.

"You did it with Shirou on top of my bed, yes?"

"Y-yes… I apologize…"

"It was your longest and most passionate session, yes?"

"E-erm… yes…"

"Sakura, I want you to answer me honestly…"

This time, Rin raised her head and glared at her sister.

"Did you, or did you not cosplay as me at any point of that session!?"

"EH…!?"

"SAKURA! _Did you, or Did. You. Not._ take my clothes from my closet, wore them, pretended to be me, and had sex with Shirou inside of my room, on top of my bed!?"

There was silence. A pregnant, deafening silence.

And in that silence, Rin found the answer to her question.

"SAKURA TOHSAKA-EMIYA, WHAT. THE. HELL!?"

"I'm so sorry nee-san!"

Sakura dropped to the ground and did a perfect seiza, bowing her head low and apologized with all her might.

For the first time in a very long time, Rin Tohsaka lost control of her emotions.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

 **==[Chapter end]==**

Hopefully this turned out well.

See you next time.


	5. A Date with Hesitation

This was written quite quickly. Original version of the chapter was quite uninteresting.

Hopefully it turned out well and please bear with any grammatical or spelling errors since I didn't have the time to proofread.

As usual, this one is for Lastmanstanding.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

The next step.

In theory, it would be so simple to do. She had already confirmed that Shirou Emiya was indeed attracted to her and that both of them would want each other's companionship beyond any reasonable doubt.

If the lovely shopping trip they had yesterday was any indication, then she was absolutely sure that she would be happy sharing a more intimate relationship with Shirou.

She could still vividly remember the sensation of the man's hands touching, caressing, and searching her body when he was dressing her.

She loved every moment of it, enjoyed every moment of it. Shirou showed no hesitation to touch her, and she felt absolutely no reluctance allowing him to do so. In fact, she welcomed it, encouraged it, and _craved_ it even.

By the time their shopping date had ended, she had embraced Shirou's arm the entire way home. They were essentially cuddling so they had gotten looks, one that neither of them could be bothered to care for.

There was an opportunity that night. Right before the two of them went to their respective rooms, they had stared at each other for several moments. She could have pushed for it then, she could have easily pressed herself, leaned in just a bit further to take Shirou's lips. There was no doubt in her mind that the two of them would have elevated the level of physical intimacy they shared with ease the moment that would take place.

She desired him but it wasn't just that. If it was pure desire, she would have already acted upon it without hesitation, going full throttle, but it wasn't just the need for companionship; it was the fact that she wanted to become more intimate with Shirou because she wanted to be with someone she loved, to start and build a life with him.

 _That_ , was what made her hesitate. _That_ was what stopped her cold.

She knew what she wanted.

She knew what Shirou wanted.

She knew what Sakura wanted.

But despite everything else, despite the overwhelming proof that only the brightest future was waiting beyond the horizon the moment she crossed that line, she felt herself hesitate at the last moment.

Because it felt like such a critical decision, such an important juncture, that, for better or worse, would change so many things. Changes she wasn't sure she was completely prepared for. Changes that she wanted to list down, just so she knew what to expect, before ever allowing them to take place.

So even when the answer was so bloody simple, it was like she was standing at the edge of the cliff, and being asked to take a leap of faith, down to world where the life she had comfortably lead up to this point would be completely different.

How the hell had Sakura ever dealt with this, she could never understand.

"Rider?"

"Hmmm…?"

Shirou's voice broke her out of her reverie, and she realized that she had stopped moving her chopsticks. She looked down on the table where a rather extravagant breakfast for two was in full display.

Pork and Potato stew and braised chicken and vegetables weren't really something they usually ate when it was just the two of them, but the prices on the department store were a steal and Shirou seemed to been in the mood to cook more.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine Shirou, just got lost in thought."

Of course, such thoughts brought her attention back to the night before and her slight frustrations in her inability to make such a simple step forward.

Shirou seemed to consider asking her further but ultimately decided to leave it for now, something she was thankful for. She could only wonder how Shirou thought of yesterday's events.

When she thought back on it, was Shirou also considering making a move last night?

If he had, then she wouldn't have hesitated to reciprocate, but then she would still inevitably think of the same things, and still struggle with the same thoughts. Though the thought of waking up next to Shirou was nice, she wouldn't have wanted to dampen their newly consummated relationship with these kinds of thoughts.

 _[Winter's right around the corner so be sure to prepare your winter clothing! Of course, we have quite a few people enjoying the beauty of the Ariake Sea, despite the coming season, the current temperatures-]_

In attempt to break her circular thoughts, she pushed her attention towards the television. The morning news reports were a staple of the household.

She looked at the screen displaying the sandy beach of the Oshikiki Coast. There were still quite a few people enjoying a summer like outing despite the coming winter, likely to do with the fact that the Kyushu area they lived in was more temperature compared to the northern parts of Japan.

"Hmm, sounds like a good idea, don't you think?"

"The beach? Though I admit I haven't had a chance to swim in quite a bit, Waku Waku Splash present a more convenient alternative if you want to swim Shirou."

It was indeed tempting but Oshikiki Coast was in the Uto area, which was an hour and a half by train from Fuyuki. It was already half past one 'o'clock in the afternoon, so unless they would go for an overnight stay, they would have very little time to actually spend at the beach itself.

"Well… there's always other _alternative_ means of travel."

"… Shirou, are you seriously suggesting-?"

She knew. She knew that Shirou had noticed her reticence and was likely throwing out this suggestion to lift her spirits.

She could have refused, citing how inconvenient it would be, or how much they would have to pay for the gas consumption, or how there were other things they could just do together.

The three of them were of the same mind when it came to preserving the household budget after all, so she didn't want Shirou to go so far just to make her feel better when she was just mulling about small things.

But… _**but**_ right now, she was being offered the keys. The _keys to freedom_ from the rules that bind and shackle her to mundane, humane speeds when on her mount.

That was far too good of a chance to pass up, considering that she may never, _ever_ get it again.

"I am… besides, I think the stress test we put Bellephron through wasn't really _enough_. We overdesigned that one so it would be weird not to really put it to the test, don't you think?"

Her heart skipped a beat and accelerate to levels foreign to human beings. The implications of that statement were clear and blatant to her. She was barely holding on to her desire to just go right for it.

Not only was she being given the change to drive but she was being given permission to push it to the absolute limits? To tear the road asunder until they go beyond the speed where even light would balk?

To go even beyond the legends of the 'Shooting Star of Fuyuki'?

She felt exasperated. The man before her eyes, Shirou Emiya, had already succeeded in making her fall and yet now he insisted on making her plunge to the deepest depths, the point of no return.

"Shirou… I know what you're going for here and I'm happy you're going out of your way. I would refuse, really I normally would… but this is a bit different, so I'm going to ask you one last time just to be absolutely sure… _Are you sure about this?_ "

Before she even realized it, she had already placed her chopsticks and bowl down on the table, left the comfort of her cushion, and had already appeared at Shirou's side. Her forehead touching his, her hand gently caressing his face, her lips so dangerously close to taking his.

She stared straight into his eyes, asking, pleading for a positive answer.

"Yes Rider, _I'm sure._ "

Then and there, Rider decided that she would love this man for the rest of eternity.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

Rider was a rather reserved person when it came to outward expressions. Even when she was particularly excited, her expressions and actions were always calm and controlled.

Which was why he was barely supressing a fit of laughter at seeing the how Rider was acting like a kid that was about to go into their first field trip. Her usual calm countenance was replaced with excitement and her eyes were honestly shining.

It was a far cry from the slightly troubled and lost expression she had since the morning. He knew that he'd probably regret giving her permission to go all out with Bellephron but he preferred that over seeing Rider troubled.

He wasn't quite dense enough not to know what she was thinking about. In the shopping trip they had yesterday, he had already made his decision.

The only reason why he hadn't gone any further last night was that he did see a moment of doubt on Rider's face.

"Well, I'm at least not going forward until Rider's completely sure of herself."

"Shirou, I'm done with the chores, we can take care of everything else when we get back!"

Rider's was zipping around the house, taking care of leftover daily chores with insane speed and brutal efficiency. In contrast, he was inside his own room, packing clothes, swimwear, and some beach specific implements.

Suddenly appearing in front of the door, he saw that Rider was already fully outfitted for the occasion. Unlike the pure black leather ensemble she had worn on their first test run for Bell, she was wearing something akin gear that was specialized for racing.

Durable and sleek, the black outfit with dark purple highlights still hugged Rider's shapely form. Notably, her glasses were missing, likely having already been replaced with the special ordered contact lenses that Rin had commissioned.

He scolded himself at having had to stare so much.

Thankfully, Rider didn't tease him for the lapse, primarily due to the fact that she was so distracted at the moment.

"Also, it's already late so let's just buy something there so there's no need for you to cook!"

"Sure. Make sure you pack some extra clothes Rider."

"Already finished! I'll take Bell out to the gate, be there in 1 minute!"

Going as fast as she appeared, Rider rushed to the shed were they stored their equipment.

Chuckling he checked the contents of the travel bag before closing it and checking for his wallet. Seeing that he would need to make a withdrawal, he went to the closet, took out his own jacket and made his way to the main gate.

Said jacket was also more suited for racing, though it was more padded and had red highlights instead of the sleek dark purple attire that Rider had.

It had been a birthday gift from Rider, one of the many methods she had used some time ago to convince the household that she should be allowed more freedom to exercise her class privileges.

He couldn't help but feel that somehow, Rider had indeed succeeded with her long term plans.

"Shirou, hurry up!"

Getting strongly urged by his riding partner, he jogged lightly to catch up. He proceeded to lock the gates and set the bounded field, before helping Rider secure their luggage on the bike.

Naturally, they both packed light, since they didn't particularly plan on actually staying long in their destination.

"Jeez, calm down Rider. I'll need to make a withdrawal and we'd need to stop at a gas station to make sure Bell has enough for the trip."

"Understood. We shall approach the nearest ATM and gas station, then make our trip for Oshikiki Coast. I've already checked and memorized the best route there, so rest assured Shirou we will have no problems."

Rider shifted to what he liked to call her 'servant voice'. He suppressed another laugh at the fact that Rider was treating the occasion like a battle in the Holy Grail War.

"Alright, I'm ready."

"Good. Let's go Shirou, we shouldn't waste any more time."

The distance between Fuyuki and Uto was about 25 kilometers. Even when taking the train, total travel time was at least an hour and twenty minutes tops. He had no idea how fast Rider could actually go but he was sure that they probably wouldn't be taking half of that time.

"Shirou, this will be the starting point."

After having getting Bell's tank to full and withdrawing some money, Rider had taken gone to the outskirts of the town. Despite the trip not having officially started yet, Rider was already blazing through traffic with reckless abandon.

"Why start here though?"

"There are fewer obstacles here so we can pick up speed safely."

Rider was checking Bellephron's instrumentation, making sure that everything was in good condition lest they want the bike to break while they were going at speeds that broke every known physical law.

Meanwhile, he was braiding Rider's hair, both for the sake of practicality and for the sake of preparing himself of what was to come.

Oddly, he didn't feel quite as nervous compared to before.

"Okay, Bell seems ready. Shirou, is our luggage secured?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it'll be fine. Your chains will probably make sure that it doesn't disappear into oblivion, but I reinforced as much as I could to make sure it survives the trip."

He responded as he struggled a bit to tie the massive braid of purple hair. Finally managing to tie it properly, he threw it over his own shoulders, intent on making sure it didn't whip his face while they were riding.

"Thank you."

Rider thanked him with a smile as both of them climbed onto Bellephron.

"Shirou, make sure to hold on as tight you can so you don't get thrown off. Reinforce your body to the absolute limits if you need to. Also—"

Before he could put on his helmet, Rider twisted her body, her hands pulling on his face pulling him down and to the side, and suddenly, he felt her lips firmly pressed against his own.

It was an awkward position, seeing as they were both already on the bike but he managed to reciprocate the kiss.

It lasted for a very short moment.

"Thank you Shirou."

They stared at each other for a few moments before Rider righted her position, wearing her helmet and turning he throttle.

Smiling, he wore his own and wrapped his arms around Rider's waist.

"Trace, on."

With the image of a gun firing off in his head, his circuits came to life as prana flooded his body.

"Ready?"

He reinforced his body, focusing and prepared himself.

"Ready."

The next moment, he immediately felt the force of the wind they were trying to tear through as the speed gradually picked up. Rider hadn't held back, going full throttle without hesitation, kicking up a storm of dust on the dirt road they were likely destroying.

With reinforced eyes, he could still see the details of the surroundings, and with reinforced ears, he could still manage to pick up sounds other than the roar of the wind.

He could feel the sharp and sudden turns, as the images of the surroundings seemed to warp from one point to another.

Then they went even faster.

Pushing his reinforcement to the very limit and reinforcing Rider's clothes as well, every other thing in the world felt like it had stopped, with only the two of them moving. It felt like they became a completely separate entity from the world, operating on a different plane.

Briefly he wondered if this is what Kiritsugu saw when he used his infamous Time Acceleration. He'd have to describe it to Rin at a later date, on the off chance that his best friend would be able to make use of the piece of trivia.

Faster. _Even faster._

The surroundings stopped making sense as everything blurred into streaks of colour light, like riding inside of a kaleidoscope. He stopped being able to decipher their surroundings, or where they were even going. He heard nothing but the roar of the wind that seemed to be weeping at the blasphemy that they were no doubt committing.

 **Faster.**

He stopped being able to perceive whether they were even turning, purely focused on making sure he wasn't torn off from Rider. He couldn't perceive the colours of the light, everything simply blurring into torrent of unending white light.

 **Faster.**

He held on with everything he could. Even when it felt like his entire body was being set aflame, even when it felt like the wind was trying to tear his arms apart from his body.

 **FASTER.**

Then, without warning, the surroundings suddenly made sense again. He could once again here the sound of the bike instead of just the wind, and he could feel that their heads were dangerously close to the ground as Rider had angled the bike as they were coming to a stop while turning sharply on the road.

After what seemed an eternity they finally came to a stop as smoke came out not only from the tires of the bike but from their _own clothes._ Finally spent and losing strength the momentum threw him off to the bike and to the grass to the side.

Unzipping his jacket and removing his helmet, he breathed a sigh of utter relief that it was over.

Rider dropped to the ground right next to him with an utterly satisfied and content smile on her face.

Neither of them said anything for a long time, revelling in the silence, just basking under the sun and staring at the clear blue sky.

"Is Bell…?"

"Still good. She held up outstandingly well. Our luggage is in tatters though…"

Considering the speed they were going at, he surprised their luggage even survived at all.

Silence once again.

"That was insane…"

With what he went through finally sinking in, that was about the only thing he could use to describe the experience.

He looked towards Rider's whose body was shaking, until finally she couldn't hold it in.

"Ah…. Ahahaha…. Ahahahaha!"

She laughed.

Rider laughed out loud.

At that moment, whatever worry or care he had for the consequences of tearing the road apart with what they did were gone.

After all, for the first time since they've met, he had finally seen Rider laugh without reserve.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

Her day had already been made. Honestly, it didn't matter if Berserker Heracles were to crash upon the beach right in front of them and asked for battle to the death. She was confident that as she was now, she could take every servant in the war at the same time and still come out unscathed.

She was elated. She felt so alive, so utterly and deliriously happy that there was absolutely nothing that could even hope to come to close to getting her down at the moment.

It was like the troubles last night and the hesitation in the morning had just faded away into dust.

Changing into her swimwear, a two piece black bikini that looked like they were more a set of ribbons tied together than actual cloth, about the only regret she had for the day was not pulling Shirou in the changing room and getting him to change her clothes for her.

It also robbed her of the opportunity of changing Shirou's clothes for him so truly, it was a wasted change.

"Hmmm…. I wonder how long Shirou will stare at me for this…"

Fastening the black choker to her neck, the last piece of the set, she glanced herself at the mirror and considered how she would be paying back Shirou for letting her go as fast as she pleased.

Briefly, she considered whether actually wearing that slingshot swimsuit would have more impact, but it wasn't something she would consider ever wearing in a place where anyone else could see her but Shirou.

"Rider, you done?"

Smirking as she heard Shirou's voice, she opened the door to greet him with a smile.

She was rewarded with a wide-eyed slack jawed face. She made sure to appreciate the view herself, Shirou's body being finely toned and built due the rigorous training that he never failed to put himself through. She smirked at the dark red swimming trunks, the one she remembered Rin had given him a year ago.

Seeing both of that, her day just got even better.

"Shall we go for a swim Shirou?"

Deciding to spare him of the teasing, she playfully kissed him on the cheek before walking towards the coast. Shirou cleared his throat before following after her, carrying the few bags they had as they passed through a quite a few people.

Naturally, they drew stares from men and women alike. She could easily ignore the attention, though nothing that Shirou seemed to be a bit more bothered by it, she decided to fall back a bit, embrace his arm, rest her head on his shoulders, and walk like a pair of sickeningly sweet lovers.

The blush on Shrou's face made her smile even wider as she felt her heart beat faster.

It was an exhilarating feeling.

"We don't have time to do much really."

Rider agreed with a nod. There were a few hours before sunset and they planned on getting back right after. It didn't amount to much time.

"I guess that just means we have to spend it well…"

Setting up the blanket and spreading it out on the sand, she laid face down and decided it was time to enjoy herself even further.

"Shirou~"

As Shirou set up the rented umbrella, she loosened the string of her swimsuit and threw the lotion at him. Catching it on instinct, he gave her confused glance before settling on a resigned smile and a rueful shake of the head.

Shirou knelt beside her, and started, what was to be, a tradition they'll be doing every time they would go to beach.

"Hnnn~"

She squired at the warm touch of his hand and the slippery feel of the lotion. Shirou made sure to evenly spread the lotion on her back, firmly pressing on her body, treating it like some kind of massage.

"Ahhhnnnnn….!"

When he was done with her back, he worked her lower body. Inching his hands slowly from her back down to the feet, he made sure to cover every crevice with lotion.

"Hmmm~ Shirou…"

With a smile, and while making sure that her front was still covered by the loosened bikini, she turned face up.

"Time to do the front."

Shirou obliged, starting with her feet once again, and working his way up her body. Once he reached her waist, Shirou turned his face to stare right at her as he made circular motions on her abdomen.

"Hngh..!"

She met his stare, fully enjoying the sensation as he kept the motion up to her chest, inserting his hand under the loosened bikini top. He passed both of his hands between her chest, going up to her collarbone, sliding them back down to the side then under. Then he repeated the circular motions on her breasts itself, with both hands, all the while never breaking their eye contact.

"Hnnnnn…."

Finally done with her chest, Shirou moved on to her shoulders, and then to her arms and hands.

"Well… you're certainly _very_ good at this. Sakura must really like the beach."

To her great pleasure, she saw Shirou blush at the teasing.

"Alright Shirou… your turn."

Sitting up, keeping her arm placed in front of her chest to make sure her bikini doesn't fall off while she worked to tie it, she waved Shirou to lay faced down so she could be the one to apply the lotion this time around.

Naturally, she made absolute sure to be just as thorough with Shirou's front side as he was with hers.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

They didn't bring any ball and neither of them were really the type to play on the sand, so they decided to the gamut of sea based activities the beach could offer.

Naturally, Rider defaulted to anything that could be ridden and he had to keep up.

Sometimes he wondered exactly how far the scope of the Riding Skill really was considering surfboards and Kayaks seem to be well in the range of Rider's class specialty. How the woman managed to make a Kayak go faster that a Jet Ski was a fact that he had no intention of ever bothering to understand.

They both tried their hand at paragliding and kite surfing, the latter of which he had managed to pull off despite having no experience. Rider did it like a pro, enough that the beachgoers were starting to gather just to watch her perform.

They considered going for the scuba diving and snorkelling activities but they didn't exactly have the time, so instead, Rider challenged him to a race.

With Jet Skis.

Beyond all logic, he had accepted. Despite the fact that it would probably take a few thousand miracles for him to actually win.

Even stranger, the people managing the things accepted as well and even went as far as to officiate and setup a buoys to serve as checkpoints in the sea.

Before he realized it, the life guard was playing commentator, other beachgoers deciding to pitch in as fellow competitors, and just like that, a Jet Ski race event magically formed. A crowd gathered on, taking a seat on the sand while vendors sold off food and drinks.

Drums and guitars were even being played by the local bands and cheering squads were also present.

He would feel it strange if not for the fact that he was so focused on the race.

Naturally, Rider took first by a large margin.

He somehow, by a very slim margin, took second place, managing to beat the other impromptu competitors despite his lack of experience actually operating a Jet Ski.

Rider must've been really rubbing off on him.

Once the event had concluded and the commission finally died down, he had gone off to get to the comfort room for a bit, leaving Rider to hold their place.

Only to come back to the current scene.

"… I wasn't even gone for more than a minute."

Rider was still sitting on the blanket, basking in the sun, just as he had left her.

Only, now she was surrounded by four men that were trying to chat her up. All four looked to be body builders considering their physique.

He wasn't exactly the type that followed shows and trends on media but even he felt that this was just a tad bit too cliché.

Letting out a sigh, he considered his course of action.

Rider was more than capable of taking care of herself. She'd be able to even resolve the situation without resorting to violence.

Then, he noticed that Rider was being oddly reserved and feigning a troubled and shy look.

His brow creased at the strange display before Rider turned to look at him and he saw a mischievous smirk.

"Oh damn it…"

Understanding what Rider was going for, he approached the group of men to calmly tell them off before whatever calamity would befall them.

"Okay, sorry guys but you're bothering my friend over there… so if you would just kindly leave us alone?"

He asked as politely as he could and the four men turned towards him with an expression that essentially told him that they thought he was the most bothersome and annoying thing they could have possibly found.

"Hah?! Don't bother us kid! This babe's way out of your league!"

He internally groaned. There were actually living, breathing people that acted like this.

He sighed again and sent an exasperated look at Rider. She had the decency to actually respond with a sheepish smile.

They were already gathering a crowd of bystanders so he decided to get this done as fast as he could.

"Seriously, just please leave us be. I'd rather not cause trouble with—"

In the most predictable outcome possible, the four men decided to resort to violence almost immediately.

The man that shouted at him, a dark skinned, bleach blonde haired man with tribal tattoos, tried to deck him on the face, an attack that avoided with swaying his body back slightly.

"Please just stop. I really don't want to—"

The two other men, one bald and the other sporting glasses and spiky hair charged at him and grab at his arms.

He casually turned sideways, causing both to plunge to the sand.

The last one, that looked the youngest out of the four, who looked like some kind of yakuza wannabee, decided to truly live up to his stereotype and pull out a knife.

Shirou's fist had already landed squarely on the man's face before he could even raise the knife.

"Tch… don't think this is over you bastard!"

The blonde with tribal tattoos charge again but this time, instead of dodging or evading, he grabbed the man's wrist and gave it a twist.

"A-agghhh!"

For the third time since this encounter, he sighed. He didn't bother speaking because they apparently did not possess the capability to listen, so instead he glared at blonde with tattoos and at his companions.

This time, he made sure to put in a very slight dose of _killing intent._

"W-w-wa…."

Releasing the blonde with tattoos he directed their attention to the unconscious yakuza like man.

"Please take your friend and leave us alone. _Please_."

Without another word, the blonde with tattoos ran while the other two picked up their fallen comrade and followed suit.

Turning back towards the woman he was about to scold Rider drew him into a tight embrace.

"My hero~"

Touching foreheads, she gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

For a moment, he considered just outright throwing caution to the wind and give the deepest kiss he could to Rider as an act of revenge.

" _Way to go!"_

" _Yeah! Go for it!"_

" _Kiss her! Kiss her!"_

Until he noticed the crowd of people that were gathered, their phones raised, no doubt taking videos of the fight and their little moment.

"I think it's time to go home?"

She turned his attention back to Rider, who, despite the mischievous smile, was also madly blushing from having the public attention.

"Might be a good idea."

With a nod of confirmation from Rider, the two of them decided to quickly pack up and get home.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

"Heh, those two suit each other pretty well. You sure you aren't jealous there Sakura?"

Playing on the screen was a video of what looked to be Shirou and Rider that had been uploaded in what was apparently called 'video hosting sites'. RIn didn't fully comprehend how those things worked, despite the fact that she was a lot more capable with modern technology than most magus.

The internet. That blasted bloody thing that she could never truly figure out. How Shirou and Sakura, and even Rider, could handle it perfectly well was beyond her. The last time she tried, she somehow managed to end up in the most depraved and place that hosted crazed videos that she felt proved that humanity had gone far, far beyond the point of saving.

"Ah… so Rider's finally did it…!"

Rin stared at Sakura, who was now wearing what amount to revealing red lingerie, a skirt apron, a maid headpiece, and a collar on her neck and wrists. Which was currently part of her punishment for crossing a few critical lines that shouldn't have been crossed.

Her sister, instead of showing any hint of jealousy, was nearing tears of happiness.

"Not even a tiny bit huh…"

She looked at video herself. The thing was set on loop as it showed Shirou fighting off some thugs while Rider pretended to play damsel in distress, and Shirou being rewarded with a kiss to the roaring approval of the crowd, before both of them make their escape with red faces.

"I'm… being perfectly honest, I do feel just a bit jealous… but more than that, I'm happy that two people I love finally decided to be happy together."

Rin looked at her sister and saw nothing but an actual saint. Someone that legitimately felt happy that their significant other could be in the arms of another woman and not feel the pain and bitterness.

It made Rin happy as well of course, because if there was even a tiny bit of hesitation in her heart regarding her plans to get in on the action, said hesitation had been murdered several times by the fact that her sister had apparently been committing some truly heinous things inside her own home.

She could let the sex inside her mansion go. That was _at least_ acceptable for as long as they cleaned up afterwards.

Sex on the bed she slept in was already crossing several boundaries but even that was something she could _eventually_ let go.

But sex on her bed, while Sakura wore her clothes and pretended to be her.

She didn't know honestly know what to feel.

On one hand, she was honestly indignant, because, any sane and normal human being would be if the same were to happen to them.

On the other hand, she was legitimately impressed that Sakura could go that far, flattered that Shirou was attracted enough to her image that that particular session went the way it did, and hopeful because it gave her a pretty good estimation on her chances to enact her plan.

"Well, that's good for them. Okay Sakura, let's continue. If you could please grab that jewel over there?"

"N-nee-san… e-err…"

"Sakuraaaa, _please grab the jewel over there._ "

Rin's finger pointed to the piece of sapphire on the ground, one that she had 'accidentally' drop.

Sakura hesitated, before sighing in resignation and walking towards the piece of jewelry.

"No kneeling down Sakura."

"B-but…!"

"No buts! More butts!"

Not allowed to kneel down, Sakura instead kept her legs straight as she bent down to reach for the sapphire.

 ***Click***

With a click and a flash, the very compromising image of Sakura was safely saved into the memory of the phone.

She was thankful that Shirou had thought her how to at least handle the camera function on these blasted touch-screen thingamabobs. It was the only function she felt was actually worth bothering with.

It was thanks to that that she now had prime blackmail material. A-grade stuff. Maybe she could even use to get Shirou to do things for her in exchange as well.

She'd need to make sure to use these treasures well.

"Nee-san!"

"No complaints. It's not like I'm going to sell or show these to anyone else. At most I'll show it to Emiya-kun and maybe Rider."

"E-even so!"

"By the way, you're not allowed to take that off until we get to home."

Home, particularly pertaining to the Emiya household. Not the mansion she had lived in for most of her life, nor the small dorm space in London.

Because really, _that was_ where home was. After all, that's where all her family lives in.

"I-I-I-In public?! I can't wear something like this in public, Nee-san!"

"Sakura, didn't you agree that you'd do anything to make up for doing what you did in my own bed?"

"Y-yes but… I mean isn't there any other way?!"

She smiled at that. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Time to cash in.

"Sakura, we're magus. We work with equivalent exchange. Naturally this means that I'd be allowed to do something of a similar level to let bygones be bygones."

"Yes… that's indeed true…"

"Hence, naturally, that means I get to have sex on your bed with some stranger I find."

"W-wait… t-that's not… right!"

"But Sakura, it's the closest possible equivalent. Why isn't it right?"

"I mean, I-it's not like I took a stranger…."

"Oh? Ohh~? So what if it was Emiya-kun then? If I took Emiya-kun, had sex with him on your own bed, you're saying that would be perfectly acceptable?"

"Well compared to a stranger…! Senpai would be more acceptable!"

"So that is to say, you're admitting that me and Emiya-kun doing is perfectly acceptable?"

"Y-yes..?"

"Perfect! Then we have a deal!"

"Eh…?"

Having finally gotten Sakura's tacit agreement, Rin went back to work on her own project.

Being a student of the second magic was no easy task. She had made quite a bit of progress since the creation of the jewelled sword and now she's been able to dabble in spatial manipulation.

"Nee-san…? Er, what did you mean by?"

"Sakura, could you reach for those stack of papers for me?"

"Wait, Nee-san, what did you mean by….?"

She ignored Sakura's continued inquiry.

She'd let her sister stew over it for a while more.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

"I guess we'll take a bit of time to go home. Shirou, are you done securing what's left of our luggage?"

"All done. And what do you mean by taking time?"

"Hmm? Well we are going all the way back to Fuyuki aren't we Shirou? Unless you plan on visiting one of the hotels…"

Rider checked the time on her phone, before carefully depositing it on the inner pocket of her race track suit. Even at faster than normal speeds, it would take them at least an hour to get home, so it was a rather long ride.

Deciding that she could get away with a few more snipes, she looked at Shirou with a smirk.

To her surprise, Shirou was smiling gently at her.

"Well you know. I never did say you weren't allowed to go full speed back home."

Her face went blank at that response.

"Shirou."

She smiled. So Shirou had every intention to keep this up until the day ended?

Her smile turned feral as she did a quick check on Bell's condition.

"Yes?"

Then she would oblige.

"Hold on tight."

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

 **==[Chapter End]==**

One or two more to go I guess and we can close this one out.

See you next chapter!


	6. A Date with Silence

**Well hey there. Back again after a break. Apologies for the sudden disappearance.**

 **Legitimate reasons this time. Was offered the opportunity to work in Japan and took it. Had to take time off to settle all the government procedures involved as well as settle in.** **So yeah, currently living and working in Japan.**

 **Just the epilogue after this. Decided to keep this short, and hopefully sweet. The Rin and Sakura section goes firsts this time around, because Rider's moment needs to come last.** **The length and content of the Rider section changed quite a bit, but ultimately this is what I decided to go with because it felt like it had the impact that I wanted.**

 **Ahaha I can do romance but it really was never my forte so hopefully the scenes for Rider went well enough.**

 **Note: Apologies to readers of the forge. Quality isn't up to my standards so I'm delaying that even more.**

 **Once more, this is dedicated to Lastmanstanding.**

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

A full week was more than enough for Rin to have gathered the data and material she needed and even complete any experiments inside the hotel. The original plan was that she would finish the experiment on the first half of the week, then proceed to spend some vacation time with Sakura on the remaining days before going back home on the weekends.

Having seen the video of Shirou and Rider kissing on the beach however, Rin decided to indulge in a bit of mischief and decided to go back earlier than planned, in hopes of catching both Shirou and Rider in something compromising. Sakura was a bit too busy trying to get her to talk about the whole sex with Shirou thing, so her sister didn't have the time to convince her not to interfere with Rider and Shirou.

Aside from getting Shirou in bed, being able to embarrass and tease the normally far too calm Rider was one of her long time personal goals. Seeing the servant genuinely beet red in the face would make her entire year.

So if the timing was just right, she might be able to annihilate two dead apostles with a single well aimed Gandr shot.

Hence, instead of relaxing in the hotel, the sister pair entered the Bullet train, making sure to sit at the very back so they could place their luggage behind the seat. The train announcement was repeating in the background as Rin and Sakura settled in.

"Nee-san, about what you earlier—"

"Oh Sakura, I accidentally dropped my wallet! If you could please…"

"Please stop trying to deflect the conversation… and we're inside a train with other people!"

Rin, sitting in the aisle seat of the Bullet Train, slowly turned her head to regard younger sister, who was wearing a rather brief brown trench coat. Of course, Sakura was still wearing the maid outfit in accordance to their agreement, and being the gracious older sister, she had allowed Sakura to at least wear something over it in public.

Hence, the trench coat.

Of course, she wasn't just going to let her sister have a free pass just like that, so the trench coat just happened to be brief enough that should any exaggerated movements be made, what lay underneath would be revealed to the world and to the public at large.

Truly, she had no intention to actually expose Sakura like that –she wouldn't hesitate to knock out anyone that actually saw her younger sister in anything compromising– but it was fun making Sakura do things that border on it.

So from the hotel, to the normal train lines, all up boarding the Bullet train, Sakura had been _very careful_ as she moved.

"Hmmm…."

She considered her sister's words and took a cursory glance of the surroundings, she took note of the positions of the few people with them. The reserved section of the bullet train bound for Kyoto was always rather empty during these seasons, and though she would normally purchase unreserved seats to save money, it would also mean less opportunity to threaten her younger sister with public exposure.

She then checked the time and the view out of the window before nodding to herself. She waited in silence, as the seconds pass, waiting for the door to the next wagon to open.

Right on schedule, the train attendant appeared. She waited for the old man to cross before looking back to her younger sister who had an unbearably cutely confused expression.

Reaching in her breast pocket, she took out her coin purse, an object she would usually strictly guard, and dropped it into the ground.

She then raised one of her eyebrows to Sakura.

Sakura, with a sigh, stood up, took a careful glance of the surroundings, stood straight, placed her hands on top of her chest and bent ninety degrees without bending her knees to pick up the 'accidentally' dropped coin purse. Due to the length of the trench coat, it hiked up just enough to reveal what she was wearing underneath.

Naturally, the sound of a camera being used followed to properly document the moment.

"Wow, you're getting frighteningly accustomed to that little sis. I'd say that would be enough to kill your average man on pure stimulation alone…"

Sakura, to her credit, only had a small blush on her face as she carefully placed the coin purse in Rin's open hands, ignoring the fact that her older sister had yet again taken another compromising photo with practiced ease.

"Nee-san, please stop stalling. We're talking about this."

Pouting, Rin waived her hand to signal her younger sister to sit down, before letting out a sigh.

It was the moment where she would be able to determine if her plan would push through.

Rin herself knew that she was a selfish person that would fight for the things she wants, but there a few people in her life that she would willingly sacrifice her own happiness to keep safe and happy.

Of course, that didn't exempt them from the tiny bits of manoeuvring every now and then, but it was all in good intention. Mostly.

"Fine, let's get this over with…"

She prepared herself for the discussion, already ready to drive it towards the most desirable outcome. She knew her younger sister and she knew that Sakura had a streak of possessiveness very deep inside that genuinely kind and gentle heart.

Rider was an exemption to that. Likely due to the bonds that Sakura shared with the servant.

"Okay… Nee-san, did you really mean that you wanted to have sex with sen-… with Shirou?"

"Yes."

Rin offered a single world affirmative response. No explanations or additional bits of info, she preferred those to be inferred by the other side that provide her own.

However, she noted the deliberate change in address mid-sentence, one she attributed to Sakura wanting a proper serious conversation.

Which could mean a lot of things.

The attempt at a serious conversation itself meant that Sakura was taking the issue seriously enough not to brush it off.

Unfortunately, that also meant steering the conversation towards her benefit would be difficult. If Sakura was being this direct then it could mean she might not even have the chance to do so.

Which could be very bad, as it may mean that Sakura would likely attempt to offer something different in exchange. A deal she would accept simply because she had no intention to trample on her own sister's happiness if she clearly expressed opposition towards the idea.

"Nee-san…"

Or it could be very good, but then she was always the one to expect the worst outcome out of any situation, so she already prepared herself before Sakura even began to speak.

Rin saw the serious expression on her sister's face. No apprehension, which was good, but none of the embarrassment she would expect if her sister was actually even remotely accepting of the idea.

She immediately prepared her reasons, expecting the next question to probe for them.

"Do you love Shirou?"

Silence. A pregnant silence.

It took a few moments for Rin's brain to actually load, process, and understand the question.

Despite the fact that Sakura was right next to her and the area was quiet enough that there was absolutely no way that she could have possibly misheard her sister, she went for cautious confirmation just for the sake of buying time.

"… I'm sorry?"

"Do you love Shirou?"

The same four words, arranged in the same order. Sakura's intonation rose at the end of the sentence, which indicates that the expression was a question that she needed to provide an appropriate answer to.

"Sakura… not everyone needs to be in love with someone to actually consider having sex with them."

Unprepared and completely caught off guard, she kept vying to buy more time until she could properly organize herself. She made sure to keep her voice even and casual, making sure to hide her quickly hastening hear beat, while keeping her face straight.

"Yes. I'm well aware of that fact… but that wasn't a 'no' Nee-san."

"J-jeez, why do I even have to comment on something so obvious? You know I don't like wasting time on that kind of stuff."

Rin liked to pretend she didn't stammer right there and kept trying to buy time to compose herself, but Sakura seemed intent on pushing the issue.

"Still not a denial Nee-san."

"I-I don't like him like that Sakura. What are you even…"

Unable to find time to compose herself, she decided to say the first thing that came to mind.

Sakura's face didn't change.

"Nee-san, your face is as red as your sweater."

"T-that's just because of the heating, my skin can be a bit reactive to the environment!"

Truthfully, even Rin had to admit how stupid that statement was when she reviewed it in her head, but it was already said and she would stand by that statement to the very end if need be.

"Nee-san, do you love Shirou?"

"… Fine… Fine! I may, just may be a tiny, _little bit_ attracted to Shirou… Happy?"

She wasn't blushing. Rin Tohsaka was not blushing like a teenage schoolgirl. Not in that moment, not ever. There was no proof in existence to prove it, and the only witness to the alleged moment was lying and should never be believed.

That was how she would respond in the future anytime the story would be brought up.

"So you are 'attracted' to Shirou and would like to have sex with him?"

"Yes… It's just… some little attraction okay? Nothing serious, just a thought that popped up in my head some time ago that I entertained…"

"Okay. I'm fine with it."

"Look, it's not like I'm trying to steal him or anything like that. I know full well how much you love each other! It was just a stupid plan I came up with some time ago that I thought of trying out, I didn't actually— huh?"

"Yes. I agree to it."

Sakura graced her with a kind and gentle smile, one that, if she were to be asked, held a bit of mischief.

If Rin could pause time, she would have, just so that she could digest the situation. She wanted to properly process every moment so she could draw the correct the conclusion and determine exactly why Sakura was fine with letting Shirou sleep with her when she had actually just kinda admitted to being attracted to the idiot.

"Okay… Sakura, level with me. I just admitted to you that I maybe, kinda, slightly, am attracted to Shirou, your husband, the guy you married… and you just give me your blessing to have sex with him just like that?"

Unconsciously, Rin looked at her sister like a scientist looking at an experiment that just produced results that wasn't supported by any kind of data previously collected.

Because it didn't. There was nothing from Sakura that would give any indication that her sister would be perfectly fine with her and Shirou just going at it. It wasn't like the Rider situation that Sakura was subtly influencing and actively rooting for.

Sure there were moments Shirou would occasionally go on errands together under Sakura's instructions. Sure there were times when she would be alone with Shirou, when Sakura and Rider needed to leave for some boding time, or when Shirou would fetch her from the airport.

But that wasn't anything like Rider. Definitely not.

It wasn't. _It shouldn't be._

"Sakura…?"

"Hmm, I wonder what Senpai and Rider are doing right now? Maybe they're having a good moment together…"

"Hey, little sis? …Sakura?"

Wasn't it?

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

It was a strange concept to put into words, but there were many different kinds of moments of silence. She'd seen them in the various forms of media she consumed, and one of the things she often liked to thing tended to be an accurate depiction of reality.

There were those moments of awkward silence. The kind brings discomfort and an immediate need to dispel for anyone involved. It was something that she had observed between Sakura and Shirou, especially during those times when the two were dancing around things regarding their relationship.

Then there were those pregnant silences. Ones that come in moments of surprise, where no words could be said because no one could find the appropriate words. A veritable pause, where the surroundings noise seem to stop for a moment.

What was rarer that moment of calm silence, one that occurred in a moment of clarity, when confusion or other details simply stopped mattering, only what was ahead. It was something she always felt when she was about to go to battle.

Then and perhaps one she was most familiar with, were the eerie, deafening moments of silence. The kind that rings in your ears accompanied those momentary feelings of loss, of loneliness; the kind of silence that she was so intimately acquainted with that she had simply learned to dispel it with a shake of a head and a distraction.

It was the kind she hated most. Mostly because it accompanied memories of a time long past, of happiness that had already slipped her grasp and couldn't be returned. Beyond that, it felt like a disservice to the family that had found and accepted her.

On the other end of the spectrum however, was those moments of comfortable silence.

The kind of silence that just puts one's heart at ease, where every little problem seemed inconsequential, where every passing second felt so peaceful that any worries felt like were being washed away.

It was the kind of silence she didn't think she would ever experience again, not until she had met a girl whose life mimicked her own so closely that it pained her heart to see. Not until she met the idiotic boy that would throw away his entire system of beliefs to save that girl.

Despite the utter insanity of the war, where a tragedy was all but assured; those two people fought through hell and back, rightfully earning the peaceful life that they now had. Those two people that looked at a monster like herself, and saw someone that could be called 'family'.

She didn't know who or what to thank for having given her the chance to 'live' once more. To have family to cherish and protect. To have a family to talk to, to smile, to laugh, and to cry with. Family that would greet you with a smile every morning and night, family that would share in both the joyous and trying moments without ever leaving your side.

So as her head rests on Shirou who sat beside her on the veranda, she stared on the star studded sky, neither of them speaking, just enjoying the quiet sound of the rusting leaves being blown by the chilly night wind.

It was one of the few times she could truly say that she hated how time felt like it flew so fast. The day felt like it passed and ended in a single moment, faster than any speed she could go on Bellephron.

Time was truly cruel. It prolonged the moments of grief and sadness, and hastened the moments of happiness and peace. In it, everything passed, whether good or bad, without mercy, without hesitation, ever unrelenting.

She could only wonder how long she could enjoy these moments. If she spent her days in happiness, would that mean she would feel time go so fast that she would reach the inevitable end far sooner? Would that these moments would pass by in an instant?

Because she wanted to be with them for as long as she could. Twisted as it may be, she felt that if it meant being with them felt longer in times of turmoil, then she would have chosen it had it not meant that her loved ones would suffer as well.

"…?"

She felt Shirou lightly squeeze her hand, and when she turned to regard him, she was only met with a smiling face.

Yet again, she felt her worries fade, and she couldn't help but smile at how easy it was to dispel just by seeing that smile.

She faintly wondered what it would have been like if Shirou was alive in her time. What would have happened in Shirou was sent to that island instead of Perseus.

Or better yet, what would have happened if she had met Shirou before she turned?

Her elder sisters would have absolutely loved him considering how skilled he was at pampering others. Those two would have spent every single part of the day forcing him to spoil them and Shirou would take all of it in stride.

He would have probably scolded the two whenever they went too far in playing around, and she would have talk with him while they both did the chores.

Maybe the peaceful life on the island would have continued without care.

Maybe she would have never turned at all if he was there.

 _Maybe she would have never become the monster of legend._

 _Maybe then, she would've had a happy ending._

"Ahaha…"

She chuckled at those thoughts. It was interesting to think of, but she always felt that dwelling on the past too much was pointless in general, even when she was prone to doing so from time to time.

That story, _her story_ , had already been written with a tragic end and there was nothing that could change it.

"….Hng."

The blanket that covered both of them was just cozy enough that she could feel Shirou leaning more towards her, likely slowly losing the battle with sleep.

She couldn't blame him. It had been a long and eventful day. Despite Shirou's peculiar body, having to take on the speeds at which she drove Bellephron back and forth to Uto would have seriously strained him.

The fact that he even maintained consciousness on the way home could already be considered an inhumane feat. With that level of endurance and stamina, there was little wonder why Sakura always seemed to be glowing after every time the two would get in the mood for it.

Which was _at least_ once a week. The walls were rather thin and Sakura tended to go overboard every now and then, something that everyone in the family knew, much to her master's chagrin.

Rin absolutely loved to tease the couple about their active sex life, something that Sakura was surprisingly open to talking about with them in private. Though she could feel that Rin could just be a tad bit too curious at times, being a bit too eager to probe for details.

She would need to ask Sakura later about that. She recalled Sakura planning to determine Rin's feelings on the matter for future reference.

Those two really were sisters in every way that mattered.

She herself preferred to tease Shirou, who preferred to take a vow of silence whenever the topic is brought up into conversation. Which happened a lot, over the dinner table, even when other guests joining them, because Rin was the kind of person that liked to embarrass the people she loved as much as humanely possible.

"… There is that as well to consider."

She whispered as she carefully adjuster her position so Shirou, who had already nodded off, would rest in the crook of her neck. With a gentle smile, she caressing and stroking his cheeks, peering at the peacefully sleeping face.

Becoming physically intimate was yet another step to consider. The day had already alleviated most of her anxieties, not even considering their little 'dress-up play' they've gotten to doing.

It was yet another step so clearly easy to take yet again she felt herself hesitate.

She wasn't about to doubt herself when it came to her own feelings and she wasn't even going to bother doubting Shirou. The man was too earnest for his own good.

However she did feel it was the final line. The line that really would make it difficult to return to their former dynamic.

She could turn back right here, say that she wasn't ready for it. Sakura and Shirou would accept it with a smile and the three of them could discuss what happened today during breakfast and everything would go back to the way they used to be.

' _Rider, I love you and Shirou, so please, I want you to go for it. I want you to be happy too.'_

Sakura's words echoed in her head once again and she could only smile.

She really was fortunate. More fortunate than she could ever hope to imagine.

"Shirou."

Tapping his cheek lightly, she called his name, leaning closely to press her lips on his forehead.

"Hnng… Rider…?"

With a groan Shirou awoke, raising his head to regard her.

Their eyes met and it was then that she decided that it really was time.

 _It was true that the story of her past truly had a tragic end. She had lost the family she had and the home they've made for themselves; herself becoming nothing more than stepping stone for the legend of another._

 _Even with the new chance in life, she was nothing more than an instance, a mere copy of the original existence that still lay inside the throne of heroes._

 _However, even if she was nothing more than just a copy, the life she lived was as true as any other._

She smiled at him sweetly. She wanted to say so many things. To thank him and Sakura for every bit of happiness she had found.

Shirou smiled right back, seeming to understand, even without words.

 _So for the sake of the family she had once lost…_

 _For the sake of the happiness of the family she was fortunate enough find…_

A moment of understanding, a moment of clarity. A calm and comfortable silence.

She slides her hand from his cheek to the back of his head and his hand reaches for her in turn.

 _She would take the step and write her own happy ending._

Their lips touch and in that moment, nothing else mattered.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**


	7. A Dream for the Future

**Welp, it took a while but hey, I actually finished a story.**

 **As usual, this is a story dedicated to LastManStanding who has really helped support me for the longest time. Hope you like the chapter.**

 **Thank you for having read this short story and having gone along for the ride.  
If you could give me your honest impressions as I have truly never really written anything quite like this chapter. It was quite the challenge...**

 **After this, I'll post something of postcript of sorts with my thoughts regarding the story and respond to any reviews that need respondin too I guess?**

 **The Forge chapter is also done and will be uploaded next weekend.**

 **Well then, without further ado...**

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

Nervousness and anxiety filled her core as she was reminded of the fact that her hands held the power to so easily break what was before her, and she so desperately kept her control in the midst of the passion; yet she felt no need to back away and instead dive into it with fervor.

The chaste kiss, a light touch of their lips, quickly became deep and searching; their hands going from a gentle hold of the other to a chaotic scramble to remove the articles of clothing that quickly became an obstruction as they moved clumsily along the halls, bumping into the walls and furniture without care as they were far too intent on keeping hold of the other.

She felt her back hit the door of the Shirou's room, never breaking the passionate kiss as she fumbled to slide open the door behind her. In a fit of frustration as the door refused to budge, her control slip momentarily as forcefully pushed on the door, easily breaking it.

Yet neither paid it any mind as they focused on each other, Shirou suddenly pushing her down to the bedding as his hand removed the last remaining articles of clothing that were in the way, carelessly discarding them to the side.

She wanted to speak, to say something about the fact that she might lose control of her strength and hurt him in some way, but she couldn't as Shirou quickly captured her lips into another deep kiss.

She felt the warmth of his body clearly as she kissed back, her arms curling behind him as she reminded herself to keep control of strength. The fear and anxiety made her hesitate in pulling him into a tight embrace, but her desire to hold him and be held in turn pushed her to try regardless.

It was when she felt him enter her that her care for self-control momentarily lapse; the physical pleasure mixed with the emotional moment pushing her to simply forget about anything else, yet the worry didn't disappear and she focused herself once more.

The passionate kisses then suddenly slowed down as he continued in a gentle and even pace, allowing her to calm down, and allowing her the presence of mind to move her hips in sync with his pace.

Minutes pass and his hands roamed her body as her own roamed his. They continued at the same pace, finding a comfortable rhythm as she found her worries and anxiety slowly fading away with the warm touches of her partner.

For a moment, Shirou stopped, raising his head to give her that warm, kind, and gentle smile that told her everything would be okay, that there was never any need for her to worry.

She smiled back and let out a laugh, feeling sheepish and embarrassed at having been read so easily, before gently placing her hand at the back of his head and drawing him in until their foreheads touched and their lips was just a nudge away from touching.

In that moment, she felt calmer than at any other point of her life.

"I love you, Shirou."

"I love you too, Rider."

The words felt so natural that it seemed to flow so easily out of her lips. Words that she would say again and again, from here on until she was unable speak.

His reply sent her heart aflutter as he placed a playful kiss on her forehead.

They locked eyes one more time and she gave a slight nod, prompting her partner to adjust his position slightly, more of his weight pressing on to her unlike before.

Then, _he went faster_ and her arms curled behind him; one hand on his back, with her nails buried in his skin, the other hand tightly grabbing the back of his head as she moved her hips faster in an attempt to keep up with the pace.

 _He went harder_ , his hands combing through her hair, before roughly grabbing onto it, and she could feel like she was losing herself to the pleasure. Any remaining fear she held was washed away by the unending wave pleasure, the last bit of temperance crumbling at his touch; all as her mouth lightly hovered over his neck, her fangs brushing against the skin.

"Medusa…."

She could feel his breath tickling her ear as he whispered her name and she felt the pressure building inside her quickly go beyond her hold and whatever worry she held felt so inconsequential.

 _It built and it built_ ; their breathes became increasingly labored, their pace growing hurried and frantic, as she tightened her hold on him; her nails drawing blood as her finger buried themselves on his skin, digging deeper as the pressure built to maddening levels as her tongue traced the contour of neck, her fangs lightly prickling the skin.

"S-Shirou…!"

She felt herself lose all semblance of control as she approached so excruciatingly close to the peak and her fangs sunk into his neck, the taste of blood entering her lips.

"Hng…!"

Her body jerked and her jaw clamped shut as if trying to tear off his neck in a muffled scream, as she felt the built of pressure _burst._ Her legs trembled and her body jerked uncontrollably as she felt him pulsing inside her, her vision blurred and her mind went blank as if the world went into a screeching halt.

"Ah…."

Her body continued to shiver as a warm wave of pleasure washed over her. Her head bobbed down and her body collapsed onto him, losing every bit of strength to move on her own. Her fangs lost their hold, and she rested her head in the crook of his bloody neck.

She felt Shirou gently reverse their position, so that she could lay on top of him to rest.

Neither of them spoke as neither of them felt the need to do so, both content to bask in a comfortable, pleasurable silence; one that was lulling her to sleep as the wave of pleasure subsided into a calm warmth.

It was only when she moved her head that she remembered his bloody neck; a wound in the shape of her fang, and mars on his skin that perfectly aligned with her teeth. The blood had already stained the bedding, and had a mirror been near, she could have seen his blood smeared over her mouth and face.

In the back of her head, she felt like she needed to apologize, to say that she had gone too far… However her body was already moving, her tongue moving across the surface of his bloody neck, slowly tasting and savouring the blood, then planting a light kiss right after.

She kept up the act, until most of the blood that spread on his neck and collarbone was gone, then proceeded to trace the area of the wound with her tongue, playfully licking and sucking on the wound.

It was when she could feel Shirou's running his fingers into her hair as his other hand gently stroking her legs that the she felt calm warmth growing intense once more.

It was when she raised her face to stare at Shirou's eyes, only to see the sheer intensity and desire directed at her causing a fire to light up inside her.

It was when their bodies met into another tight embrace and their lips meet in another passionate kiss that she knew that they'll likely be spending the rest of their vacation within the walls of the Emiya estate.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

The two of them arrived at the quiet estate well into hours of the day that she considered to be 'ungodly' as it was close to 4 am; having paid an exorbitant price for the taxi fare. It had left Rin a bit bitter about the additional expense but she had been far too distracted trying to decipher Sakura's easy agreement to her plan to really even care too much.

From the bullet train, to the subway, the bus and then to the taxi, she spent the time perusing her memories. She reviewed it, every moment when she had spent alone with Shirou in the past few years.

In hindsight, considering the fact that she was mostly in London or other parts of the world doing research and only coming back home to Fuyuki for a vacation and the occasional visit, the frequency that she had indeed spent alone with Shirou was indeed far more frequent that it should have been.

She couldn't quite put an exact date to the moment it had started, but she it was clear that the amount of times she found herself along with Shirou had been gradually growing in frequency in recent years.

Sometimes, the two of them would be tasked to shop and cook together. There were even times when she remembered teasing Shirou about giving her a massage, one she distinctly remembered Sakura urging on, in what she once assumed to be her sister just being the pure, kind, and gentle being that she was.

Then she remembered that moment a few years ago when her dearest sister would get her to hug Shirou, saying things like two people that were effectively family should be a bit closer physically, a moment she distinctly remember taking advantage of because she would always tease Shirou before and after the fact.

She could identify that moment to be the point where her greetings with Shirou changed from simple 'hellos' to full on hugs.

She could list off countless things, seemingly minor things that could easily be waived off with other logical reasons, that had changed between her and Shirou at the urging of Sakura.

"Oh… oh blessed root…"

She could only wonder how long it had been occurring, how deep the rabbit hole possibly went.

How long has her dearest sister even influencing this?

"S-Sakura…"

She called out weakly, her entire being shaken from the revelation, as the two of them had entered the estate and gone to her designated room in the western section to deposit the luggage.

"Yes Nee-san?"

There it was, the smile of an angel, ever so innocent and pure. She could only wonder what kind of monster lay beneath.

She didn't know whether to be smugly proud or profoundly scared.

Likely both.

"How long? How long have you been pushing for this?"

She wanted to know. She wanted to so badly know how long it had been going on.

For the longest time, she had been aware of her own attraction to Shirou, but had that been by Sakura's hands as well?

"Well… It's not like I planned for it. It's just… I started to notice how Nee-san's relationship never seem to last long… then I saw just how at ease and how happy you always seem to be when Senpai was around and eventually I connected the pieces."

Hearing that calmed Rin down, assured that at the very least Sakura hadn't begun influencing things before she actually did begin – or just stopped denying—her attraction for Shirou.

"Then I noticed how you would sometimes drive conversations about multiple partners, or sometimes talk about a movie or a book about happy couples in polyarmorous relationships that I did began seriously thinking about it."

"Ah… ahaha, so you did notice that huh?"

Rin made sure to focus on the luggage, keeping her back turned towards her sister. Partly because she did want to actually settle her belongings before resting, mostly to hide the fact that her face was so red from embarrassment that she was likely to combust at any point.

"It's actually what gave me the idea on how to bring Rider and senpai together actually."

She attempted to respond, to keep the flow of conversation going just for the sake of distracting herself, but found it harder than anything she's ever done.

It felt honestly awkward, considering that she never really considered the possibility that her sister had already caught on long ago with what she was doing.

"Nee-san…"

Suddenly, she felt Sakura's warmth as she was embraced from behind.

"Nee-san, in the beginning I was always jealous of you for having senpai's attention, especially during the war…"

That, at least she was keenly aware of. During the early years after the grail war, when she, Taiga, and Rider were always scheming behind the scenes to push the two to grow even closer.

"… But as the years went by, I realized that more than anything, there was no need to keep that happiness selfishly to myself. It's true that I felt strange when I first considered having Nee-san and senpai together… but eventually, I realized that it was something I wanted to see."

The embrace tightened and she could feel the heat in her face rising.

"Damn it… this is so bloody embarrassing… I-I know I was the one to consider the whole sex thing, but you think I could start Emiya-kun off with a date?"

She still wasn't ready to properly face her sister so she settled for covering her red face with her hands.

"Hmm… Nee-san, I'm pretty sure you've already gone on a lot of dates already. I don't think there's really anymore need to go on anymore."

"Huh…?"

In her confusion, Rin broke free from the embrace and looked back at Sakura.

"I mean, Nee-san, you and senpai eat dinner at a restaurant at least once every time you visit. The two of you go to movies every now and then, and you even went together to the aquarium last year haven't you?"

Sakura resumed her patented angelic smile as she spoke, and Rin's brain struggled to process the statement.

In that one long moment of silence, her memory was jogged, and she found that she couldn't actually _deny_ said statement at all.

In fact, she could clearly recall having spent almost an entire week with Shirou a few months ago; when she had business in the Shinagawa Area.

They had both slept in the same hotel –though obviously not in the same room—sharing breakfast, lunch and dinner in various food establishments, and having even spent the last day in what could only be called a shopping date.

Hell, right now, in her schedule book, she had plans to visit the onsen with Shirou with tickets provided by her sister.

"W-wha—when… h-how long have…?"

"Hmm? You mean how long you and senpai have basically been dating? Well, I'd say for the past two years but Rider likes to think that you've been dating for longer."

Her sister responded so casually, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, that she couldn't even begin to think of how to possibly react to that.

"B-but… I… what…?"

"It's okay Nee-san! Senpai hasn't really noticed it yet either! Shall we inform him now?"

"W-wait… wait! Considering the flow and the obviously discarded clothing on the veranda near the living room, I'm pretty sure those two are still—"

"Perfect! I'm pretty sure Rider's gotten enough alone time at this point, and if she hasn't we can always make it up to her in the future…"

When Sakura started pulling at her wrist, panic set in as she realized how completely and hopelessly out of depth she was.

She had lost the reigns, lost control of the situation so badly that she couldn't even begin to process any of the information she had suddenly been presented.

"S-sakura, I'm not sure I'm ready to just go in some kind of three-way with Rider here!"

She was intent to at least regain some semblance of control of the situation however, so to the very bitter end, she resisted.

However, when Sakura turned back towards her, wearing that very same innocent and gentle smile that Rin had an inkling that this was truly something she wasn't getting out of.

"Nee-san…"

Her sister's voice were sweet for the briefest moment, until she noticed every iota of innocence and gentleness in her sister's smile be replaced by a calculating smirk.

" _Don't think I haven't noticed you ogling Rider."_

It was then that Rin Tohsaka realized, that she really should have listened to all the times Shirou and Rider would sometime talk about Sakura in hushed whispers of awe and respect.

Yes, Sakura Emiya-Tohsaka was a force of nature that she truly shouldn't have ever tried challenging.

 **==[Acting on a Dream]==**

 **==[The Morning After]==**

"Really now… isn't this quite the scene, now isn't it Shirou?"

Rider whispered to her lover as she rested her head on his shoulders, Shirou resting his cheeks against her head in response.

"I… I don't even know how to take this really…"

She didn't have to look to know that he was blushing cutely.

Her desire to tease him at the moment was truly strong, but considering how rare of sight it was to see Rin in such a state, she felt that simply enjoying the sight was far more appropriate.

After all, opportunities to tease Shirou would always exist.

"Nee-san… I'm… I'm really sorry about being so forceful last night."

"Shut up…"

Across the room, Sakura was kneeling with a complicate and apologetic look on her face, apologizing repeatedly as Rin was busy curled into a ball in the corner of the room sulking.

Apparently, the events of last night still hadn't sat well with Rin, partly because she was still shocked at learning that Sakura had been so involved in influencing her own feelings, partly because she wanted to at least have a private moment with Shirou before getting into any spicy four-way affairs.

"I… feel like I need to apologize to Tohsaka…"

Rider chuckled at that anxiety on Shirou's face. She didn't really think Rin was in anyway opposed to the arrangement; especially considering that the girl had originally planned for something similar.

"I don't think you should worry Shirou, Rin likes being in control of the situation. It's likely she's just sulking because she let herself get swept up last night."

That and Rider felt that Rin was likely still embarrassed at last night's development.

After the sisters barged into the room, as she and Shirou were having a bit of pillow talk, Sakura had dragged a completely confused Rin inside the room while greeting them with a happy smile.

The events quickly developed from there as a make-shift confession from Rin was given, all at Sakura's urging, followed by a short and sweet moment of bonding between Shirou and Rin, both parties quite unsure of what to do but were clear in their expression that they found each other desirable.

Sakura, not giving the time for either Rin or Shirou to begin having any logical thoughts, stripped Rin, who was so submerged into the flow of things that she didn't resist.

From there some passionate lovemaking, that quickly turned into a three-way when Sakura decided to get involved, before evolving into a four-way when Sakura pulled Rider in to join the fray.

There was some token resistance on Rin's part still even after everything, but Sakura had been on her rare streak of sadism and drowned any protest from Rin by using either Shirou or Rider to silence the girl.

Honestly, the only thing that Rider really took away from last night was the fact that Shirou had enough stamina to keep up even after having spent a few hours with her beforehand.

Now, after a long nap, the four of them had moved out of the room that was in dire need of cleaning and airing out, with only Rin looking absolutely exhausted.

"Shirou."

"Hmmm?"

She called to him, and he responded in turn.

Right now, she still wasn't quite sure how their dynamic would change. Maybe it would evolve into something different, or perhaps she thought it would stay largely the same but with the two of them more freely expressing their affection for each other.

Adding Rin and Sakura to the equation made for a strange combination. Perhaps, in her former life, before she had become a monster of legend, she would have wished for a more traditional setting.

Then again, the stories of the past had already been concluded. She had been given a new lease in life, a new family to love and protect, and someone she could love without hesitation.

It was still a long path to the end of this new story, her loved ones still having an entire life ahead of them to live through.

She had no idea what future it was going to be but it was something she would sure to help build.

Time would pass, and so would these lovely moments. However, she would enjoy each and every single one.

"I love you."

She spoke those three words again, with a smile, and for the first time, she wanted to look to the days ahead, to the future waiting for them, to the possibilities they held.

 _Maybe one day, the family would even grow._

 _Maybe one day, she could have more of her own._

 _It was just a fleeting dream, one that was well within the definition of impossibility._

 _However she felt that maybe, somehow, someway it could become a reality._

 _So she would move, acting on that dream, walking hand in hand with the ones she loved._

 **==[Dreaming of the Future]==**

" _Sakura, Emiya-kun, have you seen my gems? I can't seem to find that amethyst I've had stored in the box…"_

 _Rin entered the room, a scowl prominent on her face._

" _Hmm, Nee-san? Didn't you just receive them yesterday?"_

" _I did! I clearly remember—"_

 _Rider let out a sigh as Rin stopped her glare landed on her as she coughed in response._

 _Rin raised her eyebrow in confusion before immediately coming to what was likely the correct conclusion._

 _Rin turned towards the two girls that were sitting beside her, busying trying to escape the view of their aunt._

 _The two girls were small in stature, with long light purple hair tied in twin-tails._

" _You two…"_

 _The moment Rin spoke and approached, the girls moved behind her and glared back at Rin._

" _Mama, save your beloved Stheno from the monster!"_

" _Mama, your adorable Euryale is in danger! Please strike down the miser!"_

 _With a healty amount of dramatic flair, the two girls cried out while pointing towards the aforementioned miser._

 _Rider considered her options. On one hand, she was their mother and it was best to protect them from Rin's wrath... on the other hand, her daughters were a bit spoiled and did need to be disciplined every now and then._

" _Stheno, Euryale… it's not good for you to take thing from your Aunt Rin."_

 _Hence, she passed judgement and the two girls froze, finally understanding the gravity of the situation._

 _When Rin's scowl turned into a vicious smirk, the two abandoned their position behind her and went to their last line of defense._

 _Crawling under the kotatsu, the two girls went across and grabbed onto their last hope._

" _Papa! Your cutest daughter is in peril! The predator has set her eyes on us!"_

" _Papa! Your most beloved daughter's chastity is in danger! The predator approaches!"_

 _She chuckled as Rin's wrath was immediately directed towards Shirou, who was just sighing in resignation._

 _She would make sure to make it up to Shirou and Rin later._

 _For now, she would enjoy the moment._

 **==[Acting on a Dream - FIN]==**


End file.
